A Life Worth Living
by russgirl
Summary: Harry is abandoned by his family while away for Vernon's business trip.Logan finds him and they become a family with twists and turns along the way.HP/X-Men/Riddick -starts as HP/X-Men with Logan/Harry father/son ,but will contain slash Riddick/Harry
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything recognizable from the Harry Potter series or the X-Men movie. There are mentions of abuse within the story and there will be slash later on, with possible M-preg. **

**Background Information**

Humans can have three possible traits that are determined by two genes, called the X-gene and the M-gene. The X-gene consists of four alleles and causes the recessive-linked trait of mutation, which results in mutants. Those that have three recessive X alleles and one dominant X allele may have some abilities, such as natural power or natural speed.

EX: XXXX XXXx XXxx Xxxx xxxx genotype

normal normal normal slight ability mutant phenotype

The M-gene consists of three alleles and causes the recessive-linked trait of magic, which results in witches and wizards. Those that have two recessive M alleles and one dominant allele may have a single magical ability, such as natural mind shields or being a seer.

EX: MMM MMm Mmm mmm genotype

normal normal single ability magic phenotype

However, for unknown reasons the two genes cannot both be active (have the recessive genotype) in a single individual. Studies show that in 95% of cases fetuses that have both the active X-gene and the active M-gene spontaneously abort within the first trimester. The five percent of fetuses that did not abort were severely deformed upon birth and died within 24 hours. Another study showed those fetuses that had one active gene and the other having all but one recessive allele showed delayed growth. Upon birth, these children caught illnesses more easily and showed delayed development. As the study continued, some of the children died due to a compromised immune system (active X-gene) or an autoimmune disorder (active M-gene); to combat this problem some children underwent gene therapy to "turn off" the active gene. Unfortunately, all attempts in those children with active M-gene to "turn off" the gene resulted in death as their magic viciously resisted the gene therapy; whereas, those children with an active X-gene could successfully undergo therapy, but their immune system was so compromised that many contracted illnesses and died. Considering the disastrous results of the gene therapy for the previously discussed study, no other attempts at gene therapy have been made.

**Chapter One: No risk, no reward**

Six-year old Harry Potter stared at the fluffy clouds outside the small rectangular window in amazement, never before had he seen something so soft. The nice woman that walked along the aisle telling him to buckle up before giving him a cookie diverted Harry's attention. Later, when Harry met back up with the Dursleys upon exiting the sky bridge, he made sure to hide the cookie deep within his pocket. A curt word was issued before Harry was following along his family towards the large belt that carried the bags around for passengers to collect. Soon Harry was dragging along his ratty backpack and Dudley's newer backpack as he followed the Dursleys out to the parking garage floor that contained the rental cars. After minimal paperwork, the reluctant family of four was in a car driving to the hotel. The hotel was close to a nice shopping district and not far from the company, that Vernon was doing business with as a representative of Grunnings.

The hotel was nice and the suite that Grunnings was paying for was spacious, containing a living area/kitchenette, bathroom, bedroom with a king-size bed, and a bedroom with two single beds. Of course, Harry was not allowed to sleep in one of the single beds as the family did not want to take the chance that he would contaminate their Dudley. Instead, he was told to sleep in the corner of the living area where there was a small pocket of space between one of the sofas and the armchair. Although on holiday for Vernon's work, Harry still had chores to do. These included cooking the meals, picking up so the normal people did not get more work than needed, and carrying the bags when Petunia took Dudley out shopping. Three days passed in this way, before things took a horrific turn.

A slurred curse and a loud thump woke Harry from his sleep. Peeking out from the space between the sofa and armchair, Harry saw a large dark shape next to a lower dark shape. The identity of the large dark shape became clear as a loud "Boy!" came from that direction. Harry quickly scrambled out of his corner and over to the wall to turn on the lights before approaching his still cursing uncle. There was no warning before little Harry was sprawled across the floor from a hard hit to the side of the head. Through his shock and the ringing in his ears, Harry vaguely heard his uncle mention losing a deal. Vernon wasted no time in starting to rain down punches onto his fallen nephew, muttering of Harry's wrongdoings as he went, until a loud gasp issued from behind him. Looking behind him, Vernon saw Petunia with wide fear-filled eyes and a small, bony hand covering her mouth.

"Vernon, how will we explain this to the management?! The boy is bleeding into the carpet and people are definitely going to notice all the bruises and whatnot on his body, fix this," Petunia said in a low hiss. There was no love or worry in her eyes as she quickly categorized the cleaning products that she would need to remove the blood surrounding her nephew's still form.

"Of course pet, just gather all the freak's things and I'll go drop him off where no where will find him. We will just tell everyone that the ungrateful brat ran away and no one will be the wiser," Vernon said soothingly, his eyes gleaming at the prospect of getting rid of his nephew. Petunia gave a curt nod before quickly going around the room collecting any object that could be associated with Harry's presence in the room. Within no time at all, Harry was wrapped up in a spare blanket and all of his things or anything that could be associated with him was packed into his ratty backpack. Petunia took one last look around the room, scanning for any items that she missed, before shooing Vernon out the door with their nephew clutched in his beefy arms. Vernon drove down the unfamiliar roads in silence as he looked for a suitably out-of-the-way place to dump the little freak. Soon enough he found a perfect road that seemed rarely traveled and pulled over to the side. A low rumble and rough hands were what Harry became aware of as the pain receded temporarily to leave the thought of how angry Aunt Petunia will be if he bleeds into the hotel carpet. Sharp pain raced through Harry's body as Vernon dropped him hard onto an uneven, cold surface before a heavy, lumpy item was dropped on top of him. The last thing Harry remembered before falling back into darkness was a muttered "Good riddance."

It is said that the human body can mange unimaginable feats in order to survive, even on the brink of death. However, a human body that already harnessed an extraordinary power can do the impossible to survive, and doing the impossible is what made Harry Potter famous. The damage done to the small body was too extensive for him to heal naturally, so little Harry's magic went inward to seek a method of fast healing. Searching, the magic found a gene that when activated would give Harry new powers, one of which was the ability to heal quickly enough to prevent death. However, activating the gene would kill him instantly. Nevertheless, the magic continued to search out the gene in every cell and activated it. Then, before the gene activation registered, Harry's magic retreated into its own gene, effectively turning itself off. Quickly all the damage done to his body was starting to heal itself, made known to an observer by the healthy flush to Harry's cheek and the disappearance of color from bruises.

Driving at night was not his most favored activity, but Logan could not avoid it if he wanted to stay on the move. He made a habit of staying on back roads as to avoid running into any more people than necessary. As he was driving down the dark road that was bordered by a thick lining of trees, he saw a car pull off to the side of the road and a heavy-set man toss a bundle to the ground beside the road. Logan caught site of what looked like hair peeking out of one end of the bundle, but shook it off as he passed them. Thirty minutes later, Logan's mind kept making him think of the possibilities that shock of hair could mean until he turned around with an agitated growl. Arriving back at the spot the bundle was dropped, he pulled over and began to search. Finding the bundle, Logan unwrapped the blanket to find a small boy covered in blood, but otherwise unharmed. Next to the boy was a ratty backpack that when opened showed some large clothes, a couple books missing their covers, some notebooks with ripped out pages, a few broken crayons/pencils, and a ratty baby blanket. A deep growl rose in Logan's chest as he gathered the boy and his things before going back to his truck.

Harry opened his eyes when the light became too bright behind his lids to continue to ignore. Shooting upright Harry's mind replayed the happenings of the previous night. Looking around fearfully, Harry found himself at a wooded area with a truck parked nearby. Trembling slightly from fear, the sound of leaves rustling alerted Harry to a tall man coming from the woods. In the man's hands was a pair of rabbits and two small fish. Feeling warm and shy, Harry looked down to notice he was wrapped in a blanket that he recognized from the hotel and a thick coat. The tall man approached before sitting before a pit lined with rocks where he started a fire. Curiosity caused Harry to move closer where he saw the man take a knife from his pocket and start to cut the fur from the rabbits. Harry startled when the man turned towards him and motioned for him to come closer. Harry shuffled closer, eyes wide, where he was more easily able to see the man skin the rabbits. The two rabbits and fish were skewered with a blackened stick before being placed over the fire.

"So, what's your name kid?" Logan asked in a gruff voice as he looked over to the small boy sitting next to him. The little one was rather tiny and extremely too skittish for Logan's comfort level, but considering where he was found it took little imagination to understand why.

"My name is Harry, are you gonna take me back to Uncle Vernon?" Harry asked softly as he looked at the man with desperate hope he said no.

"Nah, you're stuck with me kid," Logan said, noticing the pure joy in the little boy's emerald eyes, "how old are you anyway?"

"I'm six, what's your name?" Harry asked curiously, not noticing the shock caused from his response.

"Logan," was the short reply before Logan started to show Harry how the meat must be turned to assure even cooking. At one point as Logan allowed Harry to scrape any excess meat off the rabbit furs, Harry cried out before staring at his finger when the cut immediately closed. Looking up, Harry caught Logan's gaze resting on his healed finger. Cringing away as Logan lifted his hand, Harry dropped his head in fear and shame. With a heavy sigh, Logan stared sadly at the top of Harry's head as he put the pieces together behind the mystery of Harry's past.

"Harry, do you know why that happened?" Logan asked while Harry tightened into a ball before minutely shaking his head, "You are what is called a mutant Harry, I'm a mutant too." Harry lifted his head at that and watched as three metal claws came from each hand, situated between the knuckles of his fingers. With conformation that he was not a freak or alone any more, Harry started to cry. Logan retracted his claws before lifting Harry into his lap and continued to turn the meat; soon the meat was cooked through. Looking down at Harry's face he saw that the little one was asleep, so Logan gently shook him until those dazzling green eyes opened. Harry sat still on Logan's lap as the meat was set on a nearby plate and cut with another knife into strips. After they finished eating, during which Logan noticed the small amount Harry was able to consume, they fell asleep on a blanket kept next to the fire.

They stayed at that camp for a week before Logan packed them up and started to drive again. Harry sat in the passenger seat picking at the white fur that lined the pieced together shirt Logan had made for him. It had been a couple days after Harry had awaken that he asked about clothes, to which Logan replied he was going to re-stitch them to fit better. Now Harry had better fitting clothes, a few shirts with linings of rabbit fur, and a few pairs of pants with rabbit fur on the legs. Logan even made a rabbit fur coat with the inside having three linings of fabric from the hotel blanket and the extra fabric from the clothes. As for shoes and underwear, Logan had said that when they hit the next town he was going to buy them. That was what they were doing now, heading to the nearest town.

Reaching the town, Logan drove around until he spotted a retail store. It did not take long for them to grab a pack of underwear, socks, and Logan also grabbed a hat, gloves, and scarf. The clerk watched them and cooed at Harry stating that he was such a sweet little boy. Leaving Logan drove around some more until he saw a shoe store and pulled into a parking space. Logan got out the truck and walked to the passenger side to get Harry out, who he decided to carry to move faster. Walking into the store, he looked around to spot a clerk to help them and saw a young woman in a blue swirl shirt. The young woman did not immediately come forward but instead watching the two walk through the children's footwear aisle. Logan felt irritated as he walked through the aisle looking at the colorful shoes and rows of boxes until Harry tugged on his collar before pointed to a box on his right at eye level. Taking the box down and sitting on a nearby bench with Harry in his lap, he took a look inside the box. Inside was a small pair of boots that were primarily brown, quite close in color to his clothes, with design in white that ended in a Siberian tiger face on the heel. Soft footsteps approached before a blue swirl shirt came into his peripheral line of sight.

"Do you need any help? Perhaps I can check your son's shoe size?" a high pitched, slightly accented voice asked. Within the hour, they left the shop with the boots in Harry's size and looked for a place that rented rooms.


	2. Chapter 2

**Note: Apparently, I was not very clear on the issue of the two genes, X-gene and M-gene. Where I was going with that information is that it is my take on how to explain the presence of the three types of people within the same universe, and why there cannot be a person that is both a mutant and wizard/witch. No, Harry will not be switching back and forth between magical ability and mutant ability, he is a mutant. However, Harry does have more than the healing ability, and they are quite nifty, so don't worry the magic won't be missed. If Harry does not act abused, then I am sorry and if Logan seems out of character, then it is due to this being the characterization that I think he would have faced with this situation. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or X-Men characters or themes, or Pitch Black/Chronicles of Riddick.**

**Chapter Two: Losing a Savior**

The morning was characterized by the loud bustle of students and the soft grumbles of teachers. Twinkling eyes surveyed the array of students as they ate or studied, and in some cases slept at the breakfast table. An hour or so later found Albus Dumbledore's twinkle lessening as he entered to find one of his magical instruments completely still. Alarmed, Dumbledore studied the instrument a moment before moving to his bookshelf for the magical tome filled with every magical student that will attend Hogwarts. Quickly he moved to the first years listed for 1991 and scanned for the last name Potter, it was not found. Panic started to ensue until he noticed from the corner of his eye that another of the magical instruments was pulsing steadily. With a sigh of relief mixed with bafflement, Dumbledore sat back in his chair to work out what could be happening.

A heavy scowl was firmly in place as Severus Snape stood in the corner of the room watching the staff and previous order members settle into chairs murmuring their complaint. Lupin sat in a chair near the door looking tired and wary, while Minerva McGonagall had a slight frown in place. No one was quite sure why he or she had been called into Hogwarts, as there was nothing they could think of that would link them all or require all of their assistance. Soon, however, Dumbledore walked through the door with several objects floating behind him and a slight frown on his face. Setting them down, the group could see a globe-like object that was emitting a pulse of light in a rhythmic fashion, a small miniature house that seemed quite ordinary, a golden snitch whirligig with the wings completely still, and a large tome that listed names.

"These objects are all linked to one Harry Potter," Dumbledore said, lifting his hand when the expected outbursts started, "the snitch wings are charmed to rotate in response to Harry's magical signature, and the pulsing globe is linked to Harry's heartbeat."

"But Headmaster, how is it possible that the globe is pulsing but the snitch wings are still?" Lupin asked anxiously. This question intrigued them all as it was well known that when a magical person lost their magic they died. The fact that the snitch whirligig was still but the globe was pulsing was a mystery, however hope blossomed that perhaps the charm wore off. The puzzlement however greatened at the next statement by Dumbledore.

"Alas I do not know, at first I hoped that the charm had worn off, but then I looked Harry up in the book of students and his name was not listed," Dumbledore said with a heavy sigh, "Combining that with the absence of the bubble that was indicative of the wards surrounding the house and we have a mystery." The others looked at the miniature house that they now realized represented the house that Harry Potter was supposed to be living in; they wondered what could have happened to the boy.

* * *

Logan woke up with a start as flashes of memory too quick to catch faded from his consciousness. Looking to the side of him, he saw the curled up figure of the boy that had been traveling with him for a little under two years. The light was just starting to filter through the blinds of the small motel room that he had rented for them, indicating that it was still early. Giving a sigh, Logan sat up before carefully shifting his legs over the side of the bed. A low growl of annoyance rumbled through Logan's chest as he tried to remember the fleeting flashes of memory from his nightmare. Heaving off the bed, Logan crossed the room to a small table where a large duffel bag sat. Inside the duffel bag clothes both for him and for Harry lay, not to mention fighting knives for Harry to defend himself and personal items. After grabbing some pants and a muscle shirt, he headed for a quick shower pondering how they had spent two years together.

**Flashback**

Finding a place that would take in a mutant child was no easy task, but it would be better to find a stable home for Harry, at least that was Logan's explanation for his searching. The kid had not been too talkative except to ask for reassurance that Logan was not going to take him back to his Uncle Vernon, not that Logan knew who that was. After traveling for a week or two looking at small towns and cities alike, he was no closer to finding a suitable place for Harry. It was not as if he was not trying, it was just with the kid's background he needed a loving environment, like a home. Logan did not look at any of the orphanages that they passed and none of the loving couples around seemed accepting of strange things that the kid would no doubt do being a mutant. Stopping at the town that Logan was searching in now, he looked for a room for the night. The old innkeeper looked suspiciously over his glasses when Logan asked about couples looking to adopt, but other than that, no problems ensued. Sleep came relatively early for Logan as the soft sound of breathing from Harry lulled Logan into a sense of tranquility. That tranquility was shattered when the sound of someone picking the lock on the door registered in Logan's mind. Two men dressed in dark colors moved past Logan's bed and up to Harry's side before carefully shining a light on his exposed back. One of the two men drew a knife and shallowly sliced into Harry's back, watching as the cut closed back up. Harry woke and cried out as the other man made a grab for him until Logan stuck his claws into the man's back. After, both men were defeated Logan gathered their things and left the room through the window seeing a black van parked near the entrance of the inn. Quickly climbing into the truck and driving away, Logan figured he would wait until the kid could defend himself against mutant experimenters before foisting him onto a family.

**End Flashback**

Now two years later, Logan still did not feel comfortable leaving the kid with a family. Allowing the water to run down his face and the heat to soak into his body, Logan pondered why that was. However, after thinking on it for a minute or two, Logan decided not to worry about it. Eventually he would tire of the kid and then he would find the kid a family. After all, he was most definitely not 'daddy' material and all boys needed a father, right? Turning the water off, Logan stepped out into the slightly steamy room before toweling off and changing into his clothes. Leaving the bathroom, Logan was not surprised to see Harry sitting up in bed with his messy hair hanging down to his shoulder blades.

"Go take a shower kid," Logan said in his gruff voice.

"Okay, um will we practice fighting today?" came the soft reply as Harry did not speak loudly even after two years. A curt nod was all he was given as Harry scrambled from the bed to the bathroom. Logan riffled through the duffel bag to pull out the toy truck he had won Harry at some fair the boy had asked to be taken to, his large art set that Logan had bought after seeing the boy eyeing it in a store, and his 1000-page sketchpad. These he set on the table beside the duffel bag before pulling out his keys and leaving to get some food. When Harry reentered the bedroom, he noticed Logan was gone but also noticed the jacket lying across the chair and the duffel bag sitting on the table indicating that Logan was returning. Sitting in the chair, Harry picked up his sketchbook and started to draw a dog he had seen on the sidewalk in one of the other towns they visited. Harry was always a meticulous drawer, drawing detail in his sketches making it seem quite real. A noise caused Harry to look up and see a man dressed in black appear in the parking lot from thin air. 'Mutant' immediately came to mind and Harry quietly set his sketchpad down and retrieved his knives from the bed. With practiced silence, Harry slid away from the table and moved under one of the beds to hide until Logan returned.

Severus Snape was not a happy man. He and Lupin had been paired together for the last two years to search for the blasted Potter brat. Now they felt they had a lead and had to apparate from one of Canadian cities to some god-forsaken rundown motel in the middle of nowhere. The charm they were using could help them get within a five-mile radius of Potter's location but not any closer as there was no magical signature to base it specifically on. Frankly as far as Severus was concerned, even if Potter was alive, without a magical signature the boy was a squib and therefore useless to their world. 'Not that he was not useless before' Severus thought with a sneer. Lupin soon appeared with a crack next to him and looked around the area. Seeing that there was nothing else around, Lupin smiled and started towards the motel. Entering a doorway that had a old, barely legible sign that stated 'Office', Lupin immediately walked toward the older lady sitting behind the counter.

"Excuse me ma'am, have you seen a boy about eight years old with dark messy hair and vibrant green eyes lately?" Remus asked in a hopeful manner. The woman looked up from a book she was reading to study Remus and Severus as if trying to determine their intentions.

"Yes, there's a boy by that description here. He and his father arrived a day or two ago in a truck. He's a polite boy and his father is so very protective," the woman said.

"His father, ma'am?" Remus asked bewildered, knowing that Harry Potter did not have any living parents.

"Yes, a gruff, wild man by the looks of him. Hardly spoke a word except to ask for a room and tell the boy to finish the burger he had been eating when they entered. It was obvious the boy did not eat enough and the man seemed slightly concerned by it, not that just anyone would notice that," the woman told with a smile on her face in remembrance.

"What room are they in?" Severus said curtly, wishing to leave as soon as possible.

"They are in room 121, which is about five or six rooms down from here. I would be careful wanting to talk to them though, the man does not seem a people person and the boy is quite skittish," the woman told them before dismissing them to turn back to her book.

Normally, Remus would take the advice of a kind older woman such as the motel caretaker but there was a possibility that Harry was behind the door they were standing outside of. With a quick glance around Remus retrieved his wand and muttered the unlocking spell, before opening the door and walking swiftly in the room behind Severus. Shutting the door behind them, the two men noticed that there was a duffel bag sitting open on a table along with a toy truck, some sort of book, and art supplies. Both beds were still unmade and the door opposite them stood slightly open. Moving farther into the room, the two men looked at the nearly finished picture of a dog. Remus' eyes widened at the detail in the dog, it seemed as if you could see the hairs that made up the coat, and the pattern of the coat was very realistic. Unsure as to whether Harry and the mysterious man being identified as his father was out or if Harry might still be in the room, the men stayed by the table and spoke in low voices. Their conversation was interrupted, however by a dangerous feral man bursting into the room with a paper bag in his hand.

"Who are you two?" Logan asked in a throaty growl that reverberated in the space between them.

"We are looking for Harry Potter," Severus said with a sneer and obvious dislike.

"What for bub?" Logan asked walking across the room, seemingly unfazed, to set the paper bag down on the table. Neither Severus nor Remus seemed inclined to answer the man and Logan did not seem inclined to give any information to the men. "Kid, come eat," Logan said in his gruff voice that both men noticed was a lot softer than the voice used to address them.

"Those men appeared out of nowhere," said a soft voice from under the bed before a boy with long messy dark hair and green eyes appeared holding two long knives in his hands.

"Harry? Harry is that you?" Remus said with awe and sadness mixing in his tone.

"You mutants? Cause I'll tell you now that we don't know why the kid's powers manifested so early and there is no way you experimenting on him to find out," Logan said with distrust, dislike, and suspicion coating his words.

"Mutants? No, we aren't mutants, are you?" Remus said in bafflement.

"Yeah, me and the kid. Figure that is why he was dropped off to die by his uncle," Logan said with a small shrug, "but if you know the kid and appeared out of nowhere than what are you?"

"We are wizards, Mister…" Severus began.

"Logan," came the curt reply.

"Well, we are wizards Mr. Logan," Severus restated.

"No, no mister, just Logan," Logan said in annoyance.

"Ah, well Logan, we come from a race of humans that can control energy and manipulate it. We call this ability magic. Harry's parents were magical and he was magical," Severus said tapering off at the end with something akin to curiosity in his dark eyes.

"Was magical? Why am I no longer magical, not that I'm complaining, being a mutant is cool too," Harry said softly with slight curiosity mixed with apprehension.

"Well we aren't sure why you are not magical anymore Harry, but about two years ago your magical signature vanished. Normally that results in death, but you are still alive and apparently a mutant. What are your abilities anyway?" Remus asked curiously. Mutants were known in the wizard world but some had abilities that scared the average wizard and so they avoided mutants at all costs.

"He can heal from anything, same as me. Nothing else so far," Logan replied still untrusting of the two strange men.

"Well, would you allow us to call a friend of ours to tell them about us finding Harry. We have all been worried about him," Remus asked.

"Sure bub," Logan asked glancing towards the table quickly to check Harry ate all his food. Logan watched as the two men disappeared from the room as if they were never there, before telling Harry to pack his things. Within a few minutes of the men leaving, Logan had checked them out and was packing their things away into the truck. Once Harry climbed in, Logan started out of the parking lot and drove away determined to not stay in one place for so long again.


	3. Chapter 3

**Note: Hope you keep enjoying the story, but on a side note, I should probably say that Logan will be OOC. This is mainly because I do not blatantly state if he likes or dislikes people, but I try to imply it. If this is not working than please tell me and I will try to change it, but considering that I do not believe Logan would take Harry in or talk to people, he is most likely OOC. We will see the wizards' reaction to the disappearing act and Harry being a mutant. Enjoy!**

**The Indian and the Cupboard by Lynne Reid Banks is a real book that was written in 1980 for children, and it was turned into a movie.** **I do not own it, the book or the movie, and have no rights to it. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Harry Potter, X-Men, or Pitch Black/Chronicles of Riddick character/themes and make no profit on this story.**

**Chapter Three: Traveling and Discovery New Powers**

Logan gripped the steering wheel tight as he focused on the road they had been traveling for the last thirty minutes. It had been a few hours since the so-called wizards showed up in their motel room looking for Harry. Harry seemed accepting of them, telling him that the polite blonde-haired person reminded him of someone from his past. He had just grunted in return and pressed a bit harder on the gas pedal. Logan glanced out of the corner of his eyes to see that Harry was reading one of the books that he had with him two years ago, _The Indian and the Cupboard._ Being cooped up in the truck was starting to make Logan antsy, so he found an old dirt road they had been on before that led to an abandoned cabin. Turning down the dirt road, they drove through the thick foliage for about five miles until they reached the old, weed-infested cabin. Parking to the right of the road, they got out of the trunk and brought their things into the cabin where Harry immediately grabbed his sketchbook and started to finish his drawing out on the porch area. Logan gave him a glance as he passed to gather firewood for the stone fireplace, since he planned to stay the night at least.

Harry hummed as he drew making sure to use different colors and mixing to indicate where the coat of the dog shifted from the overall auburn to the dark brown of the patches. The soft tissue of the inner ear was a light peach color and the nose showed blackish with white highlights to indicate its dampness. One main patch of dark brown showed on his back and the tip of his tail and ears were dark brown as well. Looking closely, one would see the tiny nails of the dog and his bright blue eyes shining out from under his auburn brows. The dog's left ear was droopy at the tip whereas his right was alert and the little of his belly that could be seen showed light auburn. Not long after Logan had left to get fire wood, Harry finished his drawing and cried out in shock as the picture started to glow, throwing his sketchbook away in the process.

Hearing a cry in the direction of the cabin, Logan ran towards the cabin with his claws out. The thought that the crazies calling themselves wizards were back or someone else found them crossed his mind, until he cleared the tree line and saw glowing coming from the ground not far from Harry. Dropping the wood he had still been gripping, Logan crossed over to Harry giving the glowing thing a wide berth. Harry latched onto him quickly, causing Logan to sheath his claws, muttering incomprehensibly about his sketchbook and dogs. Quickly the glow took form and then started to recede to leave a dog. Logan blinked a couple times thinking that it was a trick of his mind or the glow had caused a hallucination or something, but there was still a dog sitting next to what Logan could see was Harry's sketchbook. Cautiously approaching the dog, Logan reached down for the sketchbook only to stop mid-action. There, on the page of the open sketchbook, was a drawing of the dog that was now sitting only a foot or so away. 'Well looks like the kid has more than one ability' Logan thought as he sighed before picking up the sketchbook.

"Well kid, looks like you drawing came to life," Logan said with a wave in the dog's direction, ignoring how crazy that made him sound. Harry peeked up at him from beneath the fringe of his bangs before turning his head to look at the dog then his sketchbook.

"Really, can I keep him?" Harry asked in an excited voice seeming to take it a face value that his drawing would just come to life. Logan raised an eyebrow and knelt down on his haunches before grabbing the dog by the scruff of its neck to look it over. Surprisingly the dog looked and felt completely real, like it had always been a living breathing dog.

"How do you know it's male?" Logan asked gruffly lifting the dog up to check its sex.

"Cause I was drawing a boy dog," Harry states in complete confidence with a bit of undertone making Logan feel like he should have known that. Logan eyed Harry for a while, secretly pleased with Harry opening up, before seeing that it was indeed a boy dog. Humming as he let the dog go, Logan turned to look Harry in the eye.

"Alright kid, look, you can keep the dog but don't draw anything else unless I know what it is and am there with you," Logan said seriously, wanting Harry to understand that this was dangerous. Harry nodded quickly before scooping up the dog that must have been close to half his weight and hugging it firmly. Logan stood, moving to gather the wood that he had dropped at the tree line when he had rushed back; he carried the wood into the cabin and started a fire. After assuring the fire was going and telling Harry to enter the cabin with his 'dog', he went to catch them some food. Returning from his hunting trip, Logan cooked the meet in the fireplace before cutting up some for Harry and setting some aside for Harry's dog.

* * *

Remus and Severus arrived back in the hotel room they had rented to contact the others using the floo network, the hotel was owned by a magical person. After finding the special silver powder used for international floo networks, Severus called out 'Headmaster's Office, Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry' with a slight sneer before sticking his head into the fire. Remus sat on the nearby couch pondering what was learned about Harry. With a heavy sigh, Remus dropped his head into his hands as he waited for Severus to finish updating the headmaster about their discoveries. Therefore, he jumped when the headmaster came through the floo. Dumbledore looked around the room as if expecting Harry to just pop out from behind one of the objects, until he sighed and sat in a nearby armchair. Motioning for Severus to sit down also, Dumbledore fumbled with his pocket before offering them the customary lemon drops.

"Well my boys, it is good news indeed that young Harry is alive and well. It is quite shocking that he has somehow turned into a mutant, however. The mutant that you said is taking care of him, what was it you said the dear lad's name was?" Dumbledore asked curiously.

"Logan, not sure if it's a first name or surname, but it is all he gave us," Severus said with a sneer.

"Yes and he reminded me of a werewolf, he had the same feral feel. However, I did notice that he was good for Harry and seemed to care for him," Remus said a little sullenly. Remus did not care much for Harry calling another man father, although it did not seem Harry called Logan that, but still Harry should only consider James Potter to be his father. Dumbledore's eyes twinkled a bit at the tone, happy that Remus showed such loyalty to his friend's memory.

"Hmm, perhaps we should return to them. I must say that it is disconcerting to find out that Harry's magic disappeared to leave mutant abilities. Do you have any theories as to what happened?" Dumbledore asked them as he stood from the armchair.

"I believe Albus, from what little I was able to get from Logan and Harry's minds and words that his magic brought out the mutant abilities before destroying itself," Severus said, shifting uncomfortably when all attention was brought back to him, "From what I can tell, Harry's magic did this because of some life threatening situation."

"Hmm, Severus perhaps you would floo back to Scotland and track down the Dursleys for questioning. I am still unsure how Harry ended up left in Canada in the first place," Dumbledore said in a thoughtful manner.

Severus left through the floo as Remus was allowing Albus into his mind to get the location of the motel where Logan and Harry were staying. With two cracks, Albus and Remus appeared in the parking lot of the motel and approached the door that Remus indicated. Upon reaching the door, Remus gave three loud knocks before waiting. Frowning when there was not a response, he considered just unlocking the door as he did previously. "You just missed them, checked out not even an hour ago," came the voice of the women that ran the office.

"They checked out, but we were supposed to meet," Remus said flabbergasted that the duo would just leave knowing that they would return.

"The man came in not long after you two did, probably ten or fifteen minutes later actually. He handed in his key and said that his son was getting antsy and wanted to move on, he looked a bit uncomfortable actually. Not that just anyone would notice that, you know. The boy was standing slightly behind his father and tugged on the hem of his jacket to get his attention when he pointed towards a bowl of candy I had set out. Such a cute one, that boy, the man just gave a grunt and that little boy lit up like a Christmas tree I tell ya-"

"Did they say where they were going dear lady?" Dumbledore interrupted before the woman could continue her narrative.

"No, they didn't say but the man sure looked relieved when I told him we were all through," the woman answered shortly, quite annoyed with being rudely interrupted.

* * *

For two months Logan and Harry traveled staying nowhere for longer than a night. It turned out that Harry's new power was not limitless, only animals would be created from his drawings and so far any animal he made that had not already existed or were magical* would die within an hour of forming. Logan allowed Harry to draw animals but so far, none of the others had been kept, instead they were released into the wild. The dog was lovingly called Mars, because it had this nasty habit of attacking things at any given time, which led to it nearly drowning when Logan took the dog fishing with him. As time passed, it became clearer that Mars was an actual dog and not something that resembled a dog, although the dog did seem to be unnaturally smart. Logan sighed as he pulled his truck to the side of the dirt road and turned the engine off. They always ended up back at this cabin, no matter how far away from it they traveled. Harry seemed to love the cabin, and even tried to clean it up whenever they stayed there. Turning towards the passenger seat where Harry was curled up asleep, Logan pondered staying here a while.

Setting Harry on his coat that he laid out on the floor before the fireplace that still had some wood next to it from their last visit, Logan started a fire before leaving to gather more supplies. It was on a hard, scratch surface that Harry woke up before looking around to see that he was in the cabin. Seeing the makeshift broom that Harry had put together from an earlier visit, Harry started to sweep the dust out the door, ultimately stirring it up and causing a sneezing fit. Mars huffed and padded out of the room, deciding to stay away from the dust clouds Harry was creating. However, when Mars started to growl, Harry stopped his sweeping to see three men standing on the porch. Two of them Harry recognized as the wizards from the motel.

"Hello Harry, my name is Albus Dumbledore and I am sure you recognize my companions, Remus Lupin and Severus Snape," Dumbledore said cheerfully.

"Hello," Harry said shyly as he started to step back away from the three men. Not watching where he was going, Harry tripped over a piece of wood and fell backwards. Using his hands to brace himself, Harry yelped as he collided hard with the floor. Mars continued to growl at the three men even going as far as to attack them when the stepped forward to help Harry. When the blond haired man pointed a stick at Mars and muttered something that ended in a flash of color and Mars falling hard onto the ground, Harry started to yell at the men. His eyes started to glow as the different vines and weeds around the house seemed to grow and creep towards the three men, wrapping them up in tight binds. This was the scene that Logan returned to, Harry sitting next to a motionless Mars with the two crazies and some old cross-dresser wrapped up in vines. Raising an eyebrow at the strange situation, Logan smirked and said, "What did I miss?"


	4. Chapter 4

**Note: I forgot to mention last time that the reason magical animals that Harry draws don't come to life is because they are still imaginary to Harry. He does not remember the magical world so he is drawing them from his imagination and does not have the correct grasp of how they should work to survive. If you remember Harry calls Mars a boy because when he was drawing him he is a boy, so much of the animal's ability to live is due to Harry understanding what that animal should be like. Once he realizes this, he will have no other problems. **

**Also, there are no more powers that will discovered, Harry is stuck with three. **

**Warning: Character Death and Animal Death**

**Chapter Four: The Good Guys, the Bad Guys, and Everyone In Between**

"So let me get this straight, there is some dead crazy guy that the kid will have to kill because of some prophesy made by someone?" Logan asked with a raised eyebrow as he sized up the three tied up men in front of him, "And you expect me to believe this?"

"Mr. Logan-" Dumbledore started only to get interrupted by the very boy he was trying to convince to accompany them.

"Fix my dog," Harry said in a forceful voice with a bit of a growl in it.

"Untie me and I will awaken your dog, boy," Severus bit out as he continued to struggle against the living binds. Harry stared at the man that seemed to be reluctantly in their presence before looking over to Logan. With a raised eyebrow meeting his inquisitive gaze, Harry sighed before the vines seemed to fall away from Severus as if they were as weak as string cheese. Severus straightened his robes in obvious discomfort before waving his stick with another muttered word and flash of light. Mars leapt up as if he had only been laying down in comfort before growling deeply at Remus and stalking forward. Logan and Harry watched silently as Mars stopped just before Remus Lupin, turned, raised his leg, and pissed.

"Mars, not in the cabin!" Harry cried out in distaste, completely ignoring that Mars had urinated on the tied up Remus Lupin. A deep chuckling came from the side of the room, where Logan watched with amusement in his eyes, before the clearly annoyed voice of Severus Snape interrupted the show.

"This is not getting us anywhere headmaster, it is obvious that the boy does not believe that we are here to help him and the wolf obviously didn't help with stunning the brat's dog," Severus said with a barely veiled insult in his words. Logan gave a grunt in agreement and Harry ignored the conversation now that Mars was fine, content to let Logan deal with it.

"Listen, I've seen that you have some energy manipulation thing going on, so you're either mutants with delusions or really wizards, but whatever you are it doesn't involve me or the kid," Logan said forcefully, wanting these people away from them.

"We can help Harry learn to control his power and train him to survive the confrontation with Voldemort, he isn't dead by any means," Dumbledore said ignoring that Harry was a mutant and therefore controlled his power by completely different means than wizards. Severus watched as the argument between the headmaster, claiming to be able to help the Potter brat, and Logan, claiming that as they were not of their world they did not have any obligations to it, continued. Frankly, Severus agreed with Logan. 'Potter is no better than a squib in the magical world and will be feared as a mutant' Severus thought, 'perhaps it would be better just to leave them alone, but loath as I am to admit it the brat is the only one that can destroy the Dark Lord.'

The argument between Dumbledore and Logan had been going for ten minutes and neither side seemed to be inclined to stop, although Logan looked as if he wanted to just kill the headmaster and be done with it. Severus looked away from the two arguing men to see Harry in the corner drawing what resembled a snake-bodied dragon. The picture showed a dragon with green scales, a long snake-like body, and green/blue wings. Before the boy could finish the drawing, Logan noticed out of the corner of his eyes and gave a curt, "stop" that Harry immediately responded to. Curiosity showed briefly on Severus' face before he covered it. Returning to the argument that Dumbledore continued after the brief respite, Severus decided to just end it with a logical statement, "Potter does not belong to our world any longer as he is a mutant, however he has an obligation to our world as a participant in a prophesy. His powers are different from ours and without knowing what they are or understanding how mutant powers work, there is no way to teach the boy on our end. However, if the Dark Lord returns it would be in our best interest to prepare the brat."

"Indeed Severus, indeed, I am glad that you volunteered to teach young Harry, my boy. Now that we have an agreement that is acceptable to both parties perhaps young Harry can un-tie us and we will be on our way," Dumbledore said cheerfully with a twinkle in his eyes again. Looking up from his toy truck that he had begun to play with after Logan's veto on his drawing, Harry searched for an answer in Logan's eyes. Seeing that Logan seemed resigned to the decision, if only to get rid of the old man, Harry concentrated on the vines around the two still bound men. Again, the binds fell away and after an encouraging growl from Logan, the two men apparated away. Harry went back to his playing as he did not see the need to be a part of whatever rules of conduct or comfort the men were about to set in place. It was much later, and after they ate a meal of cooked rabbit, that Severus pressed Harry to finish the drawing. Looking to Logan for assurance, Harry finished the drawing. Almost immediately, the page started to glow, only to recede a couple minutes later. On his lap, resting on his sketchbook, sat the exact animal he was drawing. Ten minutes later, the animal died.

Harry sighed heavily as he read the chapter on desert plants from his botany book. He was told by Snape to read two chapters: the chapter on desert plants and the chapter on carnivorous plants. Then he was to write an essay on the environments he would be able to encourage their growth in or how he could encourage their growth in unsuitable environments. Mars gave a huff from his place lying next to him as Harry gave another heavy sigh. Hearing a chuckle, Harry glanced up to scowl at Logan who was leaning on a tree across from him in the clearing. It had been four years since Snape had been volunteered by Dumbledore to teach him to control his powers. In that time an understanding of sorts had been put in place between Snape and Logan, they stayed out of each other's way.

Snape learned after seeing the first failed attempt at creating a magical or imaginary creature and learning the story behind Mars that understanding the physiology of the creature went a long way in creating the creature. Therefore, he bought animal physiology books and books to explain the natural hierarchy/habitats of the animals. Considering that there was little known about magical creature physiology, Snape bought biology books to better understand how things work in nature and have a better mental image for Harry to work his imagination around. Using the assumption that understanding is also key for Harry to control plants, Snape bought botany books both magical and non-magical. With these in hand, Snape started to teach Harry how the world around him worked.

"Looks like you could take a break kid," Logan said in his gravelly voice. It was obvious that Harry was tired of reading about plants, although he had an unnatural interest in them.

"I'm not a kid," Harry said in his soft voice with a bit of a pout, although he did collect his books into the cloth satchel Logan had bought him two years ago. Logan grunted in return as he led Harry back to the cabin where they encountered a pacing Severus Snape. Raising an eyebrow at the nervous man, Logan walked past him into the cabin that had reluctantly become their permanent home. Harry stopped to watch Snape curiously, wondering what could have flustered the normally unshakable man. Shrugging his shoulders, Harry continued into the cabin to see the nightmare eater sitting on his bed. The nightmare eater was the first imaginary/magical creature he created. It looked like a bit like a miniature E.T. from the movie, but had dark shadowy skin, swirling silver eyes, and razor sharp teeth. Much as its name implies, it receives sustenance from eating nightmares.

Later Logan and Harry found out about Voldemort being back, somehow regaining a body when Harry was twelve, and gathering allies for last three years. Fifteen-year-old Harry was lean and, although still struggling with his control of plants, had a good grasp on his powers. Thanks to Logan, Harry had the ability to fight with knives and with his healing ability could afford to be reckless. However, Severus was the most helpful in preparing Harry to fulfill the prophesy by dueling with Harry and Logan to give them a feel of how fast spells traveled and what colors did what. They found that their mutant healing ability could heal from many of the commonly used harmful spells; they did not try the killing curse. Unfortunately, this did not reassure them about the battle that Dumbledore was sure to retrieve them for; after all, there were things in the magical world that Harry could not dream of.

It was after a dueling session with Severus and Logan had gone hunting for big game with Mars, as it was getting closer to winter. Logan had been gone for an hour before several sharp cracks of what Harry recognized as apparition sounded outside the cabin. Looking outside the window, Harry saw robed figures gathered around a young figure with a snake draped around his neck. Startled, Harry cursed softly before rushing towards the table where a nearly finished picture of three serpentine dragons lay. Finishing in under a minute, the picture began to glow just as Severus who had gone to the bathroom reappeared in a controlled panic. The dragons surrounded Harry as he and Severus exited the cabin to have better mobility and home-field advantage. Using the back door that the paranoid Logan had installed for quick, easy escape they were able to listen to the conversation of the enemy.

"The boy will be mine to deal with, do you understand?" asked a serpentine voice with the glee of a predator stalking its prey.

"Yes my lord," came the response of several voices.

"Lucius, Bella, you are to take care of the traitor and you others can have fun with whomever else is around," the serpentine voice commanded.

The voices became muted as Severus and Harry headed into the woods surrounding the house. After all, why confront the enemy head on when Harry could instead pick them off one by one. It was only moments after they had taken shelter in the woods to await the enemy's search that a strangled cry of rage was heard from the cabin. As expected, the group started to search the surrounding woods and Harry gave his dragons the instruction to kill any of the robed figures they come across, minus Severus. Then opening his connection to the nature around him, he was able to pinpoint the location of each figure. With little fanfare, he started to encourage the plants around him to capture the figures and had all but four confined before he sensed Logan joining the fray. Soon only three were left alive and it seemed they had enough sense to leave the woods to stay that way. Giving a sigh when their only option was to confront them head on, the trio and Mars left the woods to enter the clearing surrounding the cabin. Serpentine red eyes watched as they came to a stop across the clearing from the four dark figures and narrowed when two serpentine dragons came to a stop behind them, one was killed by a blood-boiling curse thrown by a dying death eater.

"Severus, I am disappointed in you," Voldemort said in a dangerous voice that promised torture and death, "Lucius, Bella, make sure he gets his just rewards for being a traitor while I take care of these other two."

Logan raised an eyebrow at the man that all these wizards were afraid of, did he not see they were outmatched. With a shrug of his shoulders, Logan moved away from Harry, to give the man a moving target. Mars decided to stay with Harry and the two dragons split between Logan and Harry, both keeping their eyes on Voldemort. Soon Logan understood that the man was powerful, as five minutes later the two dragons were dead and Voldemort was wounded, but still standing. Claws and knives bloody, Logan and Harry went at Voldemort again only to have to dodge a sickly green light. 'He is getting desperate, which means he is getting stupid and dangerous' Logan thought with a smirk. Glancing to the side, Logan saw that Severus had taken out the woman and was dueling the man. Focusing back on Voldemort, he saw that the serpentine man knew better than to take either opponent's powers lightly and had a sliver of fear in his eyes.

The last moments of the battle were a blur and honestly the only thing that Logan or Harry would say they remembered of it was the sickly green light headed towards Harry before seeing the fallen form of Mars. Logan remembered hearing someone cry out, probably Harry, before the grass around them grew tall and plants started to weave together around Voldemort and Lucius, who had hit Severus with a slashing hex in the neck. The plants seemed to be acting on the desires of Harry to see the man that killed his dog gone for the only other thing that Logan remembered was a blood-curdling scream. After seeing Mars fall, Harry only remembered the arms around him and a soothing voice as he fell unconscious. Waking up in the truck was something that Harry thought would never occur again, but he knew it was better this way; let Dumbledore clean up his own mess. Harry sighed in sadness and completion as he literally felt the air around him vibrate with the energy of life, it seemed he understood now how to connect to nature without concentration, how to understand and encourage the world around him. Sitting in his lap was the nightmare eater, looking like nothing more than a creepy stuffed toy. Glancing to his left, Harry saw Logan watching the road and knew that they were free of obligations.

**Note: I am not good at battle scenes, so use your imagination for how Voldemort and Lucius were killed. The next chapter will be them in the Pitch Black timeline so there will be a major time skip. Also, Severus was killed in the battle by Lucius' slashing hex and Logan is running again with Harry in tow. The wizards won't show up again and I hope this didn't seem rushed, but I couldn't draw out his childhood without losing interest. So hope you liked it.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Note: Although in the Pitch Black timeline they are not going to board the ship immediately. I struggled with the idea of pairing Logan with an original character, and honestly to all those that commented, I was going to pair him with Snape before deciding to cut their ties to the wizarding world. However, it just seemed wrong not to include him with someone, so he will be paired. In addition, a better description of what Harry looks like in this fic will be given in this chapter. **

**Oh, and the nightmare eater just disappeared after eating its fill from Logan and Harry, resulting in them not having many nightmares anymore. **

**Warnings: Slash (between Logan and OC) and Implied Attempted Rape **

**Chapter Five: Meeting Your "Mother"/Surprising Doctor Visits**

Harry was wandering the planet that they recently arrived on as Logan looked for a job to make enough money to leave again once boring of their current home world. They had been planet hopping like this since space travel had resulted in multiple planet colonization and discovering other worlds. On each planet, Harry learned as much as he could about the nature of the planet and its plant life, hoping to discover new connections to manipulate. Therefore, he was walking through a large park near to their apartment to better connect to nature. Humming as he walked along the thick trees and brush that the park favored, Harry felt the brush of nature's energy against his. A small smile spread as the energy told him which plants were native and which needed to be sustained in the park. His trek took him far from the populated areas of the park, but Harry did not worry as he could feel the reassuring presence of the twin blades resting against his hips. Unfortunately, this confidence resulted in Harry letting down his guard and therefore not noticing the four men that followed him further into the wooded area of the park.

"Hey there cutie, what's a looker like you doing around here? Never seen you before, how 'bout a little fun?" a voice called out from behind him. Harry rolled his eyes while thinking of the unoriginality of pick-up lines even after hundreds of years. Turning to face the man, Harry did not notice the two other men that had slipped into the woods to surround him.

"You know, I'm not sure if you noticed, but I am a man," Harry drawled with a raised eyebrow. Homosexuality was no longer taboo as some of the planets contained only one sex that is only distinguished by the physiological ability to carry children or not. However, there were still different sexual preferences, so it was entirely possible that the men did not desire a man. Unfortunately, the slow, arrogant smirk forming on the face of the man on the right did not support that his statement mattered.

"That don't matter, you're pretty enough that I could still be satisfied. Plus that just means no surprises later on, you know," the man on the right said with a small laugh. The two men moved closer to Harry in a telltale manner that they were going to take what they wanted regardless of Harry's preference on the situation. Harry tensed before circumspectly reaching for his knives. Before he could reach them, Harry was hit in the side of the head hard. Arms coming around him were the last he remembered before blacking out. Alexander Olask was walking through the park near his apartment complex as he was normally found doing during the evening. He used this time to think about why he stayed on this crappy planet, but today he thought about his new neighbors. The well-defined muscled form of Logan came to his mind's eye before he shook himself of the thought; after all, he was most likely with the lithe and effeminate Harry. 'It's obvious to anyone that has eyes that the two care for one another' Alexander thought sullenly. After successfully banishing the thoughts running circles in his head, Alexander looked around at the scenery just catching the lithe form of Harry entering the wooded area. Glaring at the direction that Harry traveled in, Alexander decided to leave the park until seeing four men follow Harry.

"This sure is a pretty one, with his small body and pouty expression and the long hair don't help," one of the men said appreciatively, "and did you see those eyes?" The other men nodded to the statement as the man that knocked Harry out started to tear his shirt off. Hands stroked the skin reverently without consideration to the unconscious, unwilling participant. The men exclaimed over the softness of Harry's skin and started to tear at his pants, coming to notice the knives holstered on the inside of his pants. As they were ripping at Harry's pants, the men heard a throat clearing near them.

After some indecision, Alexander decided to follow the men and Harry into the woods. Alexander reached them only to notice that Harry was unconscious and the men were ripping his clothes off for an obviously nefarious purpose. Deciding to intervene, he stepped out of the tree line into the small clearing and cleared his throat. Once getting the attention of the men he pulled a knife from his hip and started to clean his fingernails before saying, "You really don't want to do that boys."

"Who the hell are you?" the closest man asked angrily while grabbing one of Harry's knives.

"Well you can consider me the personification of justice or your worst nightmare, whatever you prefer," Alexander drawled while carefully keeping the four men in his sights. The men abandoned the unconscious Harry and two of the men armed themselves with Harry's knives. Alexander watched them as they spread out a bit and looked him up and down. Although not of an impressive build, Alexander was much stronger than he looked and possessed the speed to challenge the four men in an even fight. Not that this fight was even in consideration for the four men, the closest man lunged forward only to fall in empty space. Alexander, who had spun out of the way quickly, kicked the downed man in the head only to be grabbed from behind by one of the unarmed men. Sensing the last armed man coming from the side, Alexander decentralized the man holding him by throwing his weight to the side and back. He heard a sharp intake of breath and the arms loosen, symbolizing that the human shield worked and his captor was stabbed. Throwing his head back hard, he was able to topple the shocked men only to quickly side step the man lunging at him and hit him in the back of the head with the butt of his knife. Turning around he noticed the toppled armed man struggle to free himself from his heavy friend and deciding not to look a gift horse in the mouth quickly knocked him out with a kick to the side of the head.

Harry was lying a few feet from the fight still unconscious and sporting torn clothing. Alexander sighed heavily at the sight before moving around the men to locate the two knives that surely belonged to the young boy. Once locating them, Alexander approached Harry and found his holsters to return the knives before taking off his jacket. Wrapping the admittedly thin boy, careful not to catch his mid-back length hair in any zippers, Alexander carried Harry out of the park. The trip to the apartment complex was uneventful but upon walking into the complex and entering the stairway, Alexander encountered three sharp claw-like blades inches from his neck.

"Tell me why I shouldn't kill you right now?" a deep, gravelly voice growled out into his ear.

"Because then you wouldn't know the pleasure that I could give you in the narration of what happened to your lover," Alexander said suggestively.

"Lover, what lover?" Logan asked in confusion, although not lowering his blades.

"Harry, who else would I be talking about?" Alexander said in a grumble while unconsciously tightening his arms on Harry's unconscious body.

"Listen, I don't know what you think you know but Harry is like my kid. You are going to bring Harry up to our apartment and tell me what happened," Logan said in a growl that changed from amusement to dark anger. After arriving to the apartment and settling in, Logan motioned for Harry to be placed on the couch. When the jacket fell open exposing the torn remnants of Harry's shirt, Logan growled loudly. Alexander watched in awe as Logan's expression turned murderous and he stiffened, seeming to hold his breath. Slight fear crept within Alexander's form as Logan turned to him and demanded an explanation. After ten minutes of giving just the bare details, Harry started to stir only to cry out in alarm. Logan wrapped his arms around Harry's form, murmuring quietly in his ear for a moment to calm him. Harry looked franticly around the room before catching Alexander's face from over Logan's shoulder. Surprisingly, Harry calmed upon seeing Alexander's face and fell into Logan's arms heavily with exhaustion brought on by terror and adrenaline.

This planet was interesting with its lush gardens and bountiful forests. The infrastructure was simple and composed of villages and small towns that contained farms in the center. It was obvious that all the people of this planet were male in appearance resulting in their makeshift family being the usual, not that it was unusual on other planets. They had lived on this planet for the last few months, deciding that it was nice to be somewhere safe. Harry just enjoyed being allowed to be in nature without a hanger on. Alexander enjoyed the outdoors just as much as Harry did, so before they left the planet of their meeting, Alexander would accompany Harry on his walks. Harry did not enjoy this over protectiveness from his pseudo-parents but his protests were ignored. Even though the initial circumstance of their spending time together was not the best, Harry enjoyed the time he spent with Alexander as much as the time he spent with Logan, besides his not having a choice in the matter. Considering how close Harry became to Alexander, or Alex as he insisted upon, he was wary of when Logan would decide they should leave the planet most likely without Alexander. Of course, the decision to leave the planet with Alexander was not the issue Harry thought it would be after walking in on his "parents" in a compromising condition.

**Flashback**

Harry had been wondering how he could convince Logan to allow Alex to come with them when they left the planet all day. He still had not come any closer to figuring out how to convince him that the three of them should travel together, but he was not going to wait any longer. Deciding to confront Logan, Harry left his room to search for Logan. Knowing that Logan was not normally in his bedroom, Harry started in the living room. Finding no trace of Logan in either the living room or kitchen, except for a half-full cup of coffee, Harry made his way to Logan's bedroom. Seeing no reason to knock, Harry opened the door and walked into the room only to stop abruptly. There on the bed was shirtless Logan with a naked Alex underneath him. Logan had his mouth on one of Alex's nipples and his hand on Alex's hip, as Alex's hands were fisted in the sheets. It appeared that they were grinding together, but Harry was not able to confirm that before he exclaimed in shock. The two sprung apart with Alex trying to pull the covers over his nakedness causing him to roll off the bed and take Logan with him. Logan landed with a heavy grunt only to scowl at the laughing Harry.

**End Flashback**

Harry still chuckled at the memory and the awkward conversation afterward, although his joke of calling Alex "mom" did not take since Alex did not mind. Now that Harry had a real family, although he was an adult, he called them "mom" and "dad" accordingly, which amused Logan. Now though, Harry was not laughing at the memory of catching his parents in bed, he was groaning after vomiting for the fifth time in the last hour. Behind him, Alex held his hair back and rubbed his back comfortingly. Logan was off at work. Alex sighed before wiping Harry's mouth and helping Harry to stand before directing him back to his bed. Although worried, Alex's face was nothing but reassuring as he tucked Harry into the covers and left to get a glass of water. Harry was not completely lucid since awakening that morning, but Alex was hoping that whatever was causing it would pass. Unfortunately, he was getting worse as the day carried on. After getting Harry to take a few sips, Alex ran the diagnostic scanner over Harry for the second time that day. The readings were the same: fever and dehydration from an unknown cause.

Logan grunted when his coworker said goodbye and continued to walk home. He remembered smelling something strange in Harry's scent and he worried a bit about what it would entail. The scent was unique, but also similar, but not similar enough for him to pinpoint where he had scented it before. As he got closer to home, Logan could smell the lingering scent of illness in the air and anxiously sped up his pace. Entering his home, he followed the thick scent of illness to Harry's bedroom where Alex held Harry down as he convulsed violently. Seeing the harried look on Alex's face, Logan knew this was more than they could handle and begrudgingly left to retrieve a doctor. All the doctors on the planet did house calls, as neither were the communities large enough to warrant hospitals nor the diseases bad enough to warrant hospitalization. Many of the more wild planets were similar in this aspect. Returning with the doctor, Logan showed him into Harry's room and moved towards Alex. He had to pull Alex out of the room to give the doctor room to work on Harry. It seemed like hours before the doctor came out of the room, shutting the door quietly behind him.

"You are the boy's parents?" the doctor asked, although he already assumed the answer to the question.

"Yes, we are, can you tell us what is wrong? He doesn't normally become ill and he is so violently ill…" Alex trailed off. Logan just grunted, not seeing the need to speak.

"You are not from this planet, what is your home planet if I may ask?" the doctor questioned.

"What does that have to do with anything?! Just tell us what is happening!" Alex said hotly.

"You are not from here, nor does your son's physiology match any of the other well known planets that have similar human physiology, yet he is a bearer," the doctor muttered curiously.

"Repeat that bub," Logan said in his deep voice; sure he misheard the muttered words.

"Your son is a bearer. This means he has the physiology to carry children; however, it seems that his hormones did not previously allow him to have a fertility cycle. Now, however, his hormones are changing and his body is not reacting well to the change. It might be because he is on an all male planet or the planet's food could have caused this reaction, I cannot tell you. This sickness will pass, I have given him a mild sedative that will wear off by tomorrow, when he awakens feed him broth and work up to solids. Once he starts his fertility cycle, call me," the doctor said before grabbing his bag and leaving the house.


	6. Chapter 6

**Note: We will be starting the Pitch Black script in this chapter, although I will not be just rehashing the script with Harry, Logan and Alex added in. I will be using quotes that I like from movies and the settings/situation, but I will be changing the story drastically. Also, I am going to make the children, Ali and Jack, younger than they are in the movie about seven and nine, respectively. Hope you enjoy my variation!**

**The break lines are mainly POV changes, although none of the POVs are first person. **

**Chapter Six: The Crash**

To say that Harry was thrilled with the diagnosis would be to say that the night sky is black. Although thrilled with the idea of having a family of his own, he was not so thrilled about the illness that accompanied the idea. The doctor explained to them after Harry had awoken that considering male bodies were not normally assaulted with such drastic hormone changes, the illness of the fertility period was more drastic and violent than in females. He also explained that the fertility cycle lasted a week each month and during this time not only did Harry ovulate but also dispelled any unfertilized eggs. Although he could not explain how the body knew to do this, it appeared that the recently ovulated egg did not get dispelled with the unfertilized eggs as it remained in a specialized area of the tubes that led to the womb that provided nutrition for the egg until its release. The recently ovulated egg would be released to the womb after the walls were built back up to provide for an implanted fetus. If fertilized, the body would continue to support the pregnancy as in females, although again the symptoms were more violent in males. Harry, Logan and Alex listened to the doctor in varying stages of expression, thought, discomfort, and interest respectively.

"So the body mixed male and female physiology with complex hormonal signals to produce a child-bearing male?" Harry asked, trying to understand what he was told.

"I suppose so," the doctor replied.

"Right, so how does the kid get out?" Alex asks curiously.

"Oh, well the womb entrance is connected to the anal passage, which is different in child-bearing males. The anal passage muscle becomes more relaxed towards the end of the pregnancy and allows for a large enough circumference for the child to get through. Of course, it helps that infants birthed by males are smaller than those birthed by females are. So any other questions?"

"No, we're good bub," Logan says gruffly, indicating quite obviously that he wanted the doctor to leave. Harry smiled slightly as he rubbed his lower abdomen before calling for his "mom" as the vomiting started up again.

Logan dreaded that period of the month, as Harry was prone to not only illness but also wild mood swings that would usually be directed at him. Alex weathered much better through Harry's mood swings, most likely because he catered to the boy. They stayed on the planet for another few months, if only for Harry to get used to the changes whilst in the company of people who understood it, before they moved to another planet. Their current home planet was a rough sort of place with many criminals and thugs that roamed freely. Many of the mercenaries, or mercs, in the area were dirty themselves. Alex made sure to accompany Harry around, not because he was not confident in Harry's ability to defend himself, but because Logan insisted that neither male travel alone.

The Hunter-Gratzner was an impressive ship, being able to hold 200 passengers and containing three large cargo holds. This ship would take them to their next home planet, hopefully far away from the rough and dangerous planet they currently occupied. Alex directed the ill Harry, since his fertility cycle had started for the month, to the ship entrance with Logan behind them. In his other hand were the three tickets that would grant them passage. Logan held the large bag that held their clothes and Harry's satchel that contained his books, sketchpad, and art supplies. Upon entering the ship, the trio encountered a variety of travelers including a holy man, two prospectors, and three pilgrims. Logan used his strength to push his way through the crowd and find their lockers, which were in the back near a convict whose cryo locker read 'No Early Release' in large holographic letters. Near the locker was a thin blond-haired, blue-eyed man in a blue uniform sorting shotgun shells into bags. A single eyebrow rose as Logan smelled a common drug of the time, morphine, coming from the man's pores. With a sigh of relief, Alex helped Harry into the cryo chamber and closed the container to allow Harry to rest undisturbed by the illness that plagued him once a month.

Blazing alarms pulled Logan from his doze, as he did not fall into the deep sleep that cryo lockers were supposed to provide. For the past twenty-two weeks, Logan had been categorizing the scents of the forty other passengers; the convict was the most interesting one, although most definitely not one Logan trusted around his family. Logan listened to the garbled voices of the two-crew members left alive from his position, knowing from the clinking chains that he was not alone in his wakefulness. He felt the ship roll and could hear the other passengers wakening around him, startled when they could not release themselves from the cryo lockers. Drug-addict blond found a way to release himself from his locker and approached the convict's locker. However not too long after his release, Logan heard the male crewmember shouting about "70 seconds" and then chaos ensued.

Beams of light fragmented as it entered the damaged hull waking stunned passengers and giving sight to the damage wrought by the crash. Alex groaned as he awoken but quickly pulled the red release handle and climbed free of the cryo locker. Moving over to Harry's locker, he was relieved to see Harry unharmed and tried to awaken him or find a way to open his locker from the outside. He need not worry as quickly Logan was by his side cutting into the locker with his claws. Pulling Harry from the locker the two checked him over before shaking him awake. Worried about his lethargy, Alex gave Logan a pointed look only to be given a grunt of reassurance. Harry woke to the strangled feeling of a unnatural planet, a planet that was not given a chance to flourish. Logan moved away from them to drop into the lower bowels of the ship where personal cargo was held before people started to congregate after releasing themselves. Soon Harry and Alex were watching as the blue-eyed man dragged an unconscious Riddick to another part of the ship and relocked his chains around a support beam, Logan joined them soon after. The family of three wandered outside where they were immediately assaulted with heat and the glare from the sand dunes.

"What do you feel Harry? Is this planet as dead as it looks?" Alex asked as he looked at the sand with annoyance.

"No, it's not dead," Harry started as he looked at the sand with a frown, "it's trapped." The statement was met with confusion, as neither listener nor speaker could understand the implication behind the words. Soon shouting drew their attention as they went to see what was happening. Logan took a whiff of the air catching the thick scent of blood and death. Therefore, he was not surprised when they reached the room that the screaming was loudest in to be met with the last crewmember. He, Owens if Logan remembered correctly from the jumbled memories before the crash, was impaled on a long metal rod. There would be no saving the man, Logan knew.

"Get it outta him," cried one of the passenger.

"No, it's too close to his heart," another passenger stated. The woman sitting next to him touched the rod, but flinched back as the man started yelling again.

"Don't touch it, don't you touch that handle Fry!" the man yelled deliriously, his mind and body disconnected. Harry turned from the scene to look over the other survivors. There were nine, not including their family or the convict. The children were as different as they were similar, and the teens tried in vain to shepherd them away. A couple, a strong woman and rough man, seemed sympathetic but distanced from the scene whereas a short, pudgy balding man was quickly becoming green. An older man dressed in ceremonial robes, rolled prayer beads between his fingers murmuring under his breath, while another man dressed in a blue uniform watched with morbid curiosity and glee. Harry turned back to the disheartening scene just in time to hear the woman ask the group to leave in a strangled voice. Alex quickly steered Harry away as Logan stalked past them to the large hole leading to the outside.

Outside the people started to explore the wreckage and talk to each other about the crash. Alex listened partially as the other survivors speculated on the cause of the crash while keeping an eye on Harry who was sitting with his fingers buried in the sand. Noticing Logan come towards them from his scouting trip, Alex moves away from Harry so as not to disturb him with the conversation. "So, any news that I should know about?"

"Nah, there doesn't seem to be anything else on the planet," Logan says with a shrug, "the only threats I can see so far are the convict and the drugged-up merc."

"Do you think the planet is habitable?" Alex asked already considering what needs to be done to survive this incident.

"Yeah, we just need to figure out what Harry meant by trapped," Logan states with a frown. Both men are startled when Harry appears next to them and shared annoyed glances as Harry starts to giggle at their becoming startled.

* * *

Riddick kept his eyes closed and his body relaxed as he regained consciousness just in case Johns was nearby. From his position, he listened to the voices to categorize them with the scents he had already picked up during the flight. Close by he could smell the female crewmember that smelled like fear and guilt mixed with fertility; her voice was a mix of despair, guilt, and determination. 'Now that's a woman that has a secret' Riddick thought to himself. Of course, Riddick had a good idea of what that secret was and would definitely exploit it if it could help him escape. The male crewmember was as good as dead, so he quickly passed him over. Johns was walking around the wrecked ship, but Riddick ignored him, as he knew both his voice and scent. The all male family was outside discussing the planet, which confused Riddick, but the scent of the youngest nearly made him abandon his task. His name was Harry he heard, Harry's scent/voice flowed like water in a forest and tickled his senses like tall grass. However, the mystery of Harry was not only his strange scent/voice it was the two males acting as his parents. One of the males had a gruff voice that sounded/smelled like a predator, it reminded Riddick of himself, and because of that Riddick was wary. The other male's voice was calm as was his scent, this also sent up red flags for Riddick as this male was too calm in the current situation. After lingering on the mystery of the family, he continued to listen to the voices of the other survivors.

* * *

The survivors gathered on the top of the hull to survey the area. This is where Carolyn Fry, the only surviving crewmember, found the survivors after she walked away from the dead body of Owens. All the survivors turned their attention to Carolyn as she climbed up and some immediately started to question her. Eventually, the survivors minus Logan, Alex, and Harry thanked her for their survival prompted by the female prospector. Carolyn asked their names.

"I'm Sharon Montgomery, but everyone calls me Shazza and this is me Zeke," the female prospector, Shazza, says while motioning to herself and her male partner.

"I'm Abu al-Walid, or everyone calls me Imam," Imam says as he sees the confused expressions on the other's faces, "these are my boys, Suleiman, Hassan, and Ali."

"Are they actually yours?" Alex asks after seeing Harry staring at Ali with longing.

"Suleiman and Hassan are my sons, yes, but Ali is being taken care of by me as his Chrislam mentor since he is an orphan," Imam answers kindly.

"I am Paris P. Oglivie, entrepreneur and collector of rare treasures," the pudgy man says nervously, cutting into the conversation.

"I'm Jack!" the excitable brown haired child states.

"Logan, Alex, and Harry," was the curt response when the others turned their attention to the family. Jack seemed interested in the trio and moved closer to them. Soon everyone's attention turned to the man dressed in uniform with the startling blue eyes.

"Johns, William J. Johns. The thug tied up in the hull is Richard B. Riddick, a murder and escaped convict," Johns says imperiously. Johns seemed to watch Logan, Alex, and Harry suspiciously as he mentioned Riddick. After introductions, Harry walked back into the hull to where Riddick was tied to the support beam. Harry began to study the convict and was shocked at just how feral the man seemed. The black tee fit snugly over the man's form and the black cargo pants could hold many weapons much like his could. Interestingly, the man looked to be waiting for something rather than being tied uncomfortable to a support beam. When he heard footsteps approaching, Harry quickly moved into the shadows where he wouldn't be seen.

* * *

He could smell Harry coming towards him and listened to the young man's breathing as he stopped before him. Riddick could feel the eyes traveling over him and felt his blood surge in response. The feeling was strange to him as although he has most definitely experienced lust, he has never felt this intense feeling; therefore, he ignored it. Johns and Caroline were approaching Riddick knew as he could smell the sickly, desperate scent of Johns. The duo stopped in the entrance to the room, so Johns could give Caroline the spiel about him.

"So, what do we do about him? Just leave him tied up?" Caroline asks quietly to Johns.

"That would be my choice," Johns states with no concern for Riddick's welfare, "if I had my choice those guys, Logan and Alex, would be right there with him."

"How could you say that!" Caroline exclaims shocked. Riddick could smell her anger and disbelief; he himself was shocked that Johns would recognize that they were a threat.

"Listen Caroline, there is something off about them. Don't you feel uncomfortable about how calm that Alex guy is? And that other guy, Logan, he seems too much like Big-Bad for me. I wouldn't be surprised if he tried to kill us all just to keep his family alive. You don't ignore men that give out that feeling Caroline," Johns tells Caroline heatedly. Riddick smirked a little at the amount of fear in Johns scent just from thinking of what Logan could do to him; of course, the anger that spiked in Harry's scent was also appealing. Not long after that, Caroline and Johns walked back outside to speak to the other survivors. Harry was still in the shadows, but so was Alex and he soon showed himself.

"You know that your father won't like you being near him, Harry," Alex says from the shadows, startling Harry.

"I know that," Harry says sullenly, "I just wanted to see what was so special about him. I mean dad is so wary of him, when there is that merc that has a gun and is obviously dirty. You won't tell him will you mom?"

"No, I won't tell him," Alex says with a sigh. 'Logan seems to not trust me around his family' Riddick thought amusedly 'smart man.'

**I hope that I have portrayed Riddick in character and am sorry about how long it took to get this out. I had trouble figuring out what exactly I wanted to put in this chapter.**


	7. Chapter 7

**Note: Again, this story will be based on Pitch Black, but different in actual content. I would like to make this a slow burner for the relationship between Harry and Riddick, but what actually happens is up to the characters. **

**In addition, the question as to whether or not Logan and Harry are mortal came up; they are somewhat mortal as the healing ability from their mutant powers allows them to live much longer lives than normal humans. My impression, and Wikipedia confirms this, was that the healing factor would effectively cure them of any disease and injury that could kill them; therefore if you consider aging a disease that could possibly be "treatable" in the far future, then it would make sense that they lived for centuries. I could not think of a scene that would explain this so included it here. (Also originally Logan was born in the 19****th**** century so he had already lived a full century on his own before meeting Harry.) Enjoy!**

**Chapter 7: Logan vs. Johns/Logan vs. Riddick**

The first order of business to attend to after the shock of the crash wore off was to gather all important or essential resources. Johns insisted that all weapons should be gathered and placed in a pile that he would guard, so as not to allow Riddick access. Of course, only Caroline noticed his eyes shift to Logan and Alex who were quietly talking to each other in a shadowed corner. Caroline asked Harry to accompany her to check on the water tank of the ship, hoping against hope that it was not too damaged in the crash. Traversing the wreckage was interesting as there were multiple small holes in the hull, signifying small fast traveling objects, and larger gashes that could be from collisions or the crash. Harry noticed Fry kept stealing glances at him as they walked until they came to a dead end. Caroline pointed out a square panel in front of them, explaining that it was the water tank. Opening the panel, the duo was relieved to see water still sitting in the tank.

"This should be enough for a few days considering the children will need more water in this desert climate," Fry said conversationally.

"So what do we need to do now? What other necessities are needed to stay alive in this place?" Harry asked curious to what she would propose. He thought that Caroline was trying to repent so as to feel less guilt about trying to kill off the passengers.

"We need to look into modifying the oxygen canisters to make it last longer and look for anything else that could help us survive here," Fry says while glancing sideways at Harry. Harry nods at the proposition and looks around them for anything to hold the water in to take some back to the others. As he and Fry are looking around the damaged hull for something that could hold water, Alex and Logan were being interrogated in the main hull area. Johns was still distrustful of them, Logan especially, and decided to confront them on their "suspicious" actions. The others watched on in wonder as to why Johns seemed to dislike the non-confrontational men. Logan stood leaned against one of the still intact hull walls with his arms crossed and just raised an eyebrow when the man closed in on him. Alex still was unnaturally calm as the man accused them of imaginary faults and whatnot until he took a verbal strike at Harry.

"I bet that kid of yours is a druggie with the way he had to be dragged in here when we took off," Johns said harshly, "and I dare you to come up with some other reason for why the kid couldn't walk on his own two feet."

"Well it would take one to know one Johns. You think you are so high and mighty with that shotgun at your side and the badge shining on your chest, but I know you Johns. Oh, I know you, the you that you don't want anyone to know about. I know you from my nightmares, where a blond-haired, blue-eyed demon killed my mother and sister to get to my father, a good man with a bad past. Oh, yes, I know you. Our son isn't a druggie, though the same can't be said for you, he is one of the rare few that can bear children; not that it is any of your business, merc," Alex said in a dangerous hiss that shocked the others and made the already pale Johns pale even more. Logan smirked at Johns pale face before pushing himself away from the wall and walking down the same path that Harry and Caroline disappeared through earlier.

* * *

Riddick listened as Johns started to accuse the males, Logan and Alex, of being untrustworthy through analyzing their suspicious behavior. Truthfully, he made some sense in his paranoid ramblings. Although, Riddick still was shocked that Johns recognized the threat for what it was. After all, the familiar predatory feel of Logan was dangerous but also appealing as a challenge, Alex was just disconcerting in his calmness. A low growl rumbled in his chest when Johns took a shot at Harry by implying the boy was a druggie, but a slow smirk started when Alex told him off. An additional warning sign went off in Riddick's head as he stored the information that Alex's father was high enough on the list to be hunted down by one of the most crooked mercs out there, which meant that the guy had to know some moves. With his eyes still closed, he listened to the whispered conversations between the others at the information given about Johns from Alex.

The sweet smell of Harry drifted in before the trio reemerged with a few containers of what Riddick assumed was water. Johns who had left the room after the confrontation with Alex also reemerged smelling as if he had just gotten his needed dose of happy drug. Riddick snorted softly at that, knowing that the suspicion on him would just increase if he seemed to play into the words spoken against him. Carolyn announced their arrival and that they were able to find containers for the water amongst some of the survival gear. Harry could be heard crouching down, most likely in front of the children, and speaking in a soft voice. Two thumps indicated that two of the containers must have straps long enough to hang to his hips, canteens most likely.

"Hey there guys, look at what I have here," Harry said in his unmistakable flowing voice, "we found these small canteens that can be all yours, so you don't have to worry about ever not having water." From the two childish giggles, Riddick figured that he had been talking to the young children. Everyone was handed out water from either Caroline or Harry, except for Logan and Alex who already had their water from Logan collecting it when he travelled back to help the duo or check on Harry, who knew his motives. He was not shocked when he was not given water; however, he was shocked when he heard the light footsteps of Harry approach. He could almost feel the annoyance and unease of Logan grow with every step Harry took and smirked to himself a little. Harry was able to get his gag and blindfold off before Johns sprinted over and grabbed his wrist. Riddick could see Johns had his handgun pointed at the side of Harry's head.

"You trying to get us all killed, kid!" Johns growled out in what he thought was an intimidating voice. All were shocked when three sharp blades appeared in front of Johns' neck; the shock was not the blades themselves however. No, the shock was from the blades originating from in between the knuckles of one murderous looking Logan.

"I'd get the gun away from my kid's head before you get yourself killed, bub," Logan said in a low rumble that promised pain. Johns looked ready to piss himself.

"What the hell are you?" Johns stammered out in fear as he shakily lowered the gun and pointed it away from the boy in front of him.

"Don't matter what I am, just know that I'm hard as hell to kill and hold a grudge for the rest of my life and trust me when I say that's a long time," Logan said without removing, or retracting seemed more appropriate to Riddick, the blades. Riddick filed the knowledge he was learning about the two mysteriously dangerous men away for if he needed it later, hopefully he would not need to go up against them though. It was only once Johns scuttled away like a rat running from a cat that Logan retracted them back into his hands, which healed instantly. Riddick raised an eyebrow at that, but turned his attention back to Harry when a delicate hand was waved in front of his face. The bright green eyes were mystifying especially since Riddick was seeing them for the first time, but he opened his mouth obediently when the canteen was held to his lips. After having a few sips, Logan pulled Harry away and Johns was quick to approach and replace the bit and blindfold. Unfortunately for Johns when he replaced the blindfold, it shifted so a small hole was in front of his left eye.

It was after everyone went into the cargo hold below the hull to find any helpful items to either modify the oxygen canisters, as Zeke and Shazza were trying to accomplish, or find a way to call for help that Riddick took his chance. Figuring that he could do better on his own than tied to a support beam and at the whims of a drug addict, he decided to escape. Looking around him through the small hole in the blindfold, Riddick spotted a break in the beam that he could possibly pass the chain for his cuffs through and as luck would have it one of the survivors left a blowtorch hanging not far in front of him. With a small bit of maneuvering, Riddick was able to lift his arms up, dislocate them, pass the chain through the break, and replace the arm in its socket before he jumped up to grab the torch. By the time the others came back up from the cargo hold, he was long gone.

* * *

A loud string of cursing alerted the others to a problem most likely originating from Riddick as the cursing was identified as the coming from Johns. The others came out from different parts of the ship that they were in to see Johns holding something shiny in his hands while looking into the horizon with a scope. Harry recognized the shiny object as the bit that was in Riddick's mouth while he had been tied up. This meant that Riddick escaped, Harry was not sure why that made him so excited. Logan on the other hand was smirking at Johns' frustration, while considering what might happen when they run into each other. Alex just raised an eyebrow at Harry upon noticing the obvious excitement in his eyes and sighed at Logan. Johns went into fake-cop mode and started to psyche people out about the dangers of Riddick and the need for his capture. This continued on until Carolyn who was not as suspicious of Johns as the others, since she had not heard the confrontation between him and Alex, spoke.

"Maybe we can find a way off this planet, somewhere out there."

"Oh yeah Carolyn, and what do you suggest, huh? That we just walk into the nearest dealership and ask for the newest deep-space, passenger model with extra cargo space. Look around you, there's nothing out there!" Johns said showing his obvious displeasure with the statement by his heavy sarcasm.

"We don't know that," Carolyn said angrily, "there could have been others that came here sometime before us. Maybe they could have a radio or a ship or something."

"So you suggest we just start walking randomly in the desert hoping that we stumble upon something. We will just die out there, our water will run out before we can even find our way back," Johns drawled before disintegrating into a slightly fearful tone.

"You know, this isn't getting us anywhere. Besides, she is right, we will have to chance the desert in hope that there might have been someone to colonize this place at one time. The water we have will not last long if we stay here either, maybe if we find some type of colony there could be more water. Plus, to catch Riddick you would have to go into the desert might as well look for something that will help us survive while you're out there," Harry scolded as he hugged the two children to himself. Alex smiled, both at Harry scolding two adults that appeared older than he did and that the children were clinging to him, as scared children are wont to do with their mothers. After the highly embarrassing display, Johns yielded and told those that were going to gather weapons. Those going into the desert were Logan, Caroline, Imam, his sons Suleiman and Hassan, and of course Johns. As they were preparing to go, Shazza stopped them to hand them modified breathers.

"I don't know if they will work, haven't tried them yet," Shazza said apologetically with a shrug of her shoulder, "but I hope they will help somewhat." The teenage boys crying out "Captain!" and waving frantically towards the outside interrupted the awkward moment, annoyed the adults walked outside to see what the big deal was. Expressions of shock and annoyance covered the faces of all but Harry, whose face only held comprehension.

"Three suns, you have gotta be shitting me!" Johns exclaimed incredulously. The crash survivors watched as the two orange-reddish suns that had been beating down on them from the moment they crashed started to set only for a blue sun to start rising. After getting over his shock, Imam clapped and started to pray upwards for thanks drawing the attention of the others.

"What the hell are you thanking God for? This means that we will lose our water even faster since we will have to drink more than normal to stay hydrated," Johns said angrily. Harry who had had enough of Johns' attitude and disrespect marched over to him and slapped him before telling him off for his terrible personality and cursing in front of the children. When it looked like Johns was going to respond to Harry's attack violently, Logan stepped into Johns view making the arrogant man pale drastically.

"Blue sun means blue water, we are being given a direction by God," Imam said with unwavering conviction although the scowl on his face showed his displeasure with Johns' earlier comment.

"Yeah, well, that's the direction that Riddick went," said Johns trying to scare the others and get his faux authority back.

"I thought you said you found his mouth piece over there, towards sunset," Carolyn stated more than asked wondering what gave him the impression that Riddick would be in that direction.

"Yeah I did, but that means that he went that way," Johns said pointing towards sunrise. This did not discourage the others though as Riddick was one of the reasons they were traveling out into the desert in the first place. After the others left on their manhunt/scouting trip, tasks were split up amongst the survivors that stayed behind. Zeke and Alex decided to bury Caroline's crew members upon her request as they were the only capable men, besides Harry who was looking after the children and Paris who could barely walk without huffing much less dig. Shazza was doing some repairs on the ship, just in case it would have to house them until help could come.

* * *

The hunting /scouting party walked on along the endless dunes. Near the beginning of the trip, Carolyn tried to tie her scarf around her head like the Chrislams were wearing theirs, but could not get it to stay. Imam moved closer to help her, while Johns barked to keep moving. Periodically the travelers took sips of their water as they walked to keep from getting too dehydrated from the sweat pouring off them, even in the less harsh heat of the single sun. As they came to the top of another of the endless dunes, they could see green, tree-like objects far in the distance. Johns took out a scope and looked closer hoping that it was not a mirage brought on by the heat. The scope revealed that indeed there were bits of green sticking up awkwardly above the dunes in the distance. Although the angle of the supposed branches was strange, it brought a smile to his face. Upon seeing the smile, Carolyn anxiously asked if it was trees.

"Too far to tell, but their green so I don't know what else they could be," Johns said excitedly. Logan grunted as the others chattered excitedly and continued marching with renewed vigor. He did not buy the tree theory, for one Harry told him that the planet was trapped so there could not be any foliage and two all he smelled was old death; however, Logan did not share his thoughts and opinions. The group continued to march closer to the supposed trees until Carolyn stopped and asked to borrow the scope.

"Those trees aren't moving," Carolyn states as she is looking through the scope. Johns grabbed the scope away from her and commanded they keep moving considering that if there were trees, there had to be water. The boys, Suleiman and Hassan, ran ahead unheeding of the warnings that Johns had been spouting from the beginning of the trek. As the adults hurried to catch up to the boys, they did not focus on the trees that they were headed towards. Therefore, shock was the main expression that crossed the faces of the adults when they caught up with the still teens on the top of a dune overlooking the supposed trees. Instead of trees, there was a large field of massive bones bleach-white at the bottom and tinted green at the top. It seemed that the dorsal spine of the bones making up the spinal column were completely covered by lichen, if that is what caused the green tint, and the transverse spines were partially covered. Logan, however, broke the trance that stopped the others by stalking past them towards the shadows created by the bones.

"Bones, damn bones! What the hell are we supposed to do now, huh? We came all this way just to stumble upon bones," Johns exclaimed angrily.

"Well, Riddick could be hiding there," said Carolyn slightly hopefully, "after all there would be spaces in the bones that he could hide in, besides at least we know that the planet might have some areas that can sustain life."

"Doubt it," Logan called up in his deep gruff voice from the bottom of the dune, before stalking off into the bones.

"How the hell did he… never mind, doesn't matter. Point is that he is most likely right; this planet is dead and the moment we find that murdering son of a bitch Riddick is the moment that we trek back to the ship," Johns said before moving down towards the bones. Logan went to the largest bones in the yard and traveled to the skull through the rib cage. Once inside the dark shadow of the skull, Logan looked up towards the sinus cavities where he knew Riddick would be hiding out. He could hear Johns looking around the bones closer to the perimeter and Suleiman and Hassan entertaining themselves playing with the strange baleen-like structures coming from the maxilla bones of some of the skulls. However, it was not them that he was interested in.

* * *

After escaping the admittedly unchallenging restraints, Riddick made sure he dropped his bit as a present to Johns before jogging off in the other direction. He was surprised when he came across a bone yard, but did not look a gift horse in the mouth as the old saying goes. Examining the bones, Riddick could see small, deep scratch marks in the bones and longer, shallow scratches indicative of an animal attack. Riddick moved through the bones towards the largest skull, knowing that it would have sinus cavities large enough to fit him in case the others were on his trail. Moving through the rib cage towards the opening of the skull, Riddick came across some bone fragments buried in the ground, most likely from the sternum. Picking them up, Riddick started to fashion two shivs, which are curved blades about the length of one's hand. The shivs were made from the bone by scraping a harmless looking block of metal that Riddick kept in his pocket against the bone. This process resulted in some small fragments being left in the sand below, but the sinus cavity that he was sat in was back deep enough to not allow someone to see him. Once finished, the shivs were about the length of his hand and curved slightly with a small ridge along the side of the blade; the handle was just large enough for his hand and at the end opposite the blade was a small curved spike. It was not long after he finished the shivs that he could smell the approach of some of the others, however, it was the feral, wild smell of Logan that excited him.

Riddick stayed still in the sinus cavity of the long dead beast as the others crested the last dune overlooking the area. An amused smirk crossed his lips at hearing the panic in Johns' voice, but it was the unwavering approach of Logan that set him of edge. By the time the others started to approach the bone yard, Logan had nearly made his way to the skull containing him. A tense anticipation rose in Riddick as the smell of Logan became stronger and his steps became louder, signaling his closeness. The steps stopped right below him and the feel of eyes was unmistakable. Placing his shivs in easy to reach areas on his person, Riddick jumped down to face Logan.

"Hey there big daddy," Riddick stated amusedly at the scowling Logan, "was there something I could help you with?" Riddick knew that the man could care less about helping Johns, so he figured that this confrontation was more about Harry than anything else. It was entertaining, as Riddick had not done anything to Harry, yet. They took a moment to watch the other, their posture, the positioning of their arms and legs, such details told them much about how dangerous the other was. Logan narrowed his eyes at Riddick's nonchalant comment before cracking his knuckles in anticipation of the fight. Neither man wanted to make the first move, although, soon Logan's impatience won out and he lunged at Riddick. Riddick sidestepped Logan's lung and took out one of his shivs to slice the man along his side. A small grunt was the only indication that his shiv hit, before Riddick had to duck a wide punch to the head.

"Not that easy to hurt me bub," Logan growled out before giving another punch to Riddick's abdomen. Riddick thought about the moment before Harry had given him water where he saw Logan retract his claws. 'Ah,' he thought, 'so he can heal himself.' This prompted Riddick to theorize different approaches to fighting the man, considering that he could not hurt him. Riddick got another cut to the man's leg that again did not slow him down. It was after being slugged by Logan that Riddick started to give his all.

"You're not normal," Logan stated after Riddick hit him hard in the side. A sly smirk was the only answer as the fight continued.

"Well this isn't getting us anywhere," Riddick said as he wiped the blood from his lip, "and Johns and Carolyn are getting closer."

"What's your point," Logan growled out.

"This is about what exactly; you aren't Mr. Boy Scout to want to help Johns capture me, so why the fighting?" Riddick pointed out.

"This is about keeping you away from Harry," Logan growled out. Riddick raised an eyebrow at that knowing that Harry approached him more than he approached Harry, but fathers see what they want. He watched as Logan stilled and turned his head to the approaching steps of Johns and Carolyn. Taking the opportunity his inattentiveness allowed, Riddick disappeared back into the sinus cavities of the skull before Logan could turn back to him. Logan did not have time to pursue Riddick before Johns walked into the main space of the skull and questioned him.

"You see Riddick around here anywhere?" Johns asked as he looked around with his gun at chest level.

"No," said Logan in his deep, gravelly voice before walking off.


	8. Chapter 8

**Note: I am glad that you like the story and that people are responding well to Logan's attitude toward Riddick and Johns. You might have noticed by now that the story line is slightly different from the movie and it will continue that way. Enjoy!**

**Chapter Eight: Finding the Colony/Meeting the Locals**

Logan grunted in annoyance at Johns' continued calling of him, but studiously ignored it as he continued to stalk around the bone yard. He smirked as Johns moved to stand next to Carolyn by the eye socket of the largest skull where he knew Riddick was still hiding. Leaning against a nearby rib, Logan listened as Caroline spilled her secret to Johns. 'Not smart,' Logan thought to himself, but of course, he did nothing to prevent the woman from her folly. It was amusing that Riddick was able to cut off some of Carolyn's hair without her or Johns noticing, although he would never openly congratulate the skills of the man. Johns was proposing that they head back to the ship when one of the pilgrim boys' yelling interrupted him. Logan could see something shiny in the hand that the pilgrim boy was waving frantically. When the group came closer, they saw a toy robot in his hand. Considering the find, Johns was outvoted and the group trekked on in the direction that the robot was found.

Continuing to trek with these people was beginning to wear on Logan's nerves mainly because of Johns constant grumbling. Logan was close to putting Johns out of his misery when they spotted some buildings in the distance. Hope seemed to be renewed for Carolyn and the pilgrims upon seeing the small, far-off structures. Upon reaching the structure, Logan nearly stumbled from the scent of death, fear, and hunger that permeated the air. A precursory glance as they walked through the village towards the largest building in the center showed him that these people were massacred and whatever killed them was efficient if the bones of those beasts back in the desert was anything to go on. Imam and his boys found the atmospheric water retrieval device between buildings near the dead hanging gardens. Logan took in the details of the unit in hope that Alex, who was handy with machinery, would be able to fix it. Turning his head when he heard the excited shout from Carolyn, Logan lazily followed the others to where Carolyn was excitedly jumping up and down. Carolyn started to pull on one side of the old dusty tarp to reveal the beat-up, old-fashioned emergency skiff. Knowing quite a bit about ships, he listened with a skeptical glance and raised eyebrow as Carolyn explained the possibility of hard wiring the skiff to operate on the power cells of their ship.

"Something to add?" Johns asked with a sneer when he spotted the skepticism on Logan's face.

"Yeah, that even if that were possible, the skiff won't hold all of us. In addition, hard wiring the skiff to accept the power cells of the Hunter-Gratzner would be highly fuel inefficient and would only support us for a month, maybe two. Considering we don't know how far from the shipping lane we are, it would be a foolish plan," Logan said. It amused him that the others seemed shocked, whether from his speaking so much at one time or that he knew about ships

"That's not true!" Carolyn cried out when she saw the others considering his words, "I'm the captain and I know it is possible to adapt an older ship to the newer fuel system. Although, the skiff won't carry us all it will allow some of us to get help!" Logan glanced her way and watched as she huffed from annoyance and anger at being questioned. Looking at Imam, Logan could see the wheels turning in his head from everything that he has learned and witnessed since the crash. Feeling that his weekly charity work obligation was completed, Logan turned from the group and started to walk away toward the bone yard. He could hear the others following behind him reluctantly.

* * *

Riddick waited until the group left the bone yard and Johns was satisfied with his double-check to leave and head back to the ship, maybe they had something he could use. Thinking about how he could acquire a breather or some water, Riddick did not realize that he was closing in on the crashed ship until he was a dune away. As he crested the last dune, Riddick looked around cautiously to spot the positions of the other survivors. The male prospector, Zeke, and Alex were a bit away from the ship digging a hole for the bodies laying on the tarp nearby. On top of the ship hull sat the cowardly, extravagant collector of rare treasures with an umbrella shading him from the sun. Slight cursing clued Riddick into Shazza's position in one of the heavily damaged side halls where the slight glow indicated that she was doing patchwork. It was the childish giggling and melodic chuckling that Riddick moved towards however. Moving close to the ship was ridiculously easy as the "lookout" was occupied drinking his fancy liquor. Traversing through the ship was a bit more complicated as Shazza was working on an area near his goal. However, Riddick was nothing if not crafty and soon enough he was watching Harry play with the children from the shadows.

"Harry, Harry look at me do a flip," the excitable little Jack implored. Harry turned his attention to the older child and watched as she completed a partial flip before landing on her bottom. A small laugh escaped him as he went to pick her up from the ground.

"Oh Jack, you were very close my little girl, but you must work on it some more," said Harry gently and quietly. Although not wanting it to be public knowledge, Jack told Harry that she was a girl since she felt safe with him, but Harry understood the dangers of such a young girl traveling on her own. Soon, however, Ali caught his attention with a loud yawn. Harry picked the young boy up and carried him over to a more shaded area of the hull to lay him down, but Ali caught Harry's sleeve when he tried to leave.

"Sit with me? Please?" the small boy asked looking fearfully into the dark.

"Of course I will. Jack, why don't you come lay down too?" Harry patted the spot on his other side. Once both the children were settled, Harry started to sing a lullaby to ease them to sleep and make them forget about the uncertainties around them. After he could feel the gentle, shallow breaths of the children against his side, Harry carefully extracted himself from in between the bodies and watched as they curled around each other in his absence.

"I know your there, Riddick, I felt it the moment you came into the hull," Harry said amusedly. Riddick slipped from the shadows to stand behind Harry.

"You did, did you? Had a run-in with your father out there, he was under the impression that I am near you too much and asked me to stay away from you," Riddick said silkily into Harry's ear. A small shiver ran up Harry's spine at the feeling of Riddick's breath against the shell of his ear.

"You have a very distinctive feeling and I am sure that Dad did not _ask_ you to stay away from me," Harry said breathily, with a small squeak when Riddick's arm came around his waist. Riddick was not sure what it was about the man that attracted him so or why seeing Harry with the children made him think of fairytale lifestyle with a white picket fence. Harry turned in Riddick's arms to see that he had goggles covering his eyes.

"Your light sensitive, aren't you? So, does that mean you cannot see color because of a shine job?" Harry asked while looking directly into those tinted goggle lenses.

"I can see your eyes," Riddick stated before leaning down to capture those full, red lips that had his attention during most of the conversation. Before he could capture them, however, a gunshot rang out. The children startled awake, crying in fright. Riddick reluctantly released Harry and moved back into the shadows to observe the chaos. As soon as he was covered in the shadows, Alex came barreling into the room to check on Harry and the children. Harry, who had recovered from the daze Riddick had put him in, went to comfort the children while sending his mother a questioning glance. The tale of a worried Zeke shooting a supposed Riddick, who turned out to be another survivor, was amusing to Riddick. Alex after telling his tale and helping Harry comfort the children glanced at the shadows directly where Riddick was standing before leaving to help Zeke bury the new body.

* * *

Alex could tell that Riddick was hidden in the shadows of the hull and considering Harry's dazed expression when he first entered, something had happened between them. 'I just hope Logan can accept that Harry is interested in the man,' Alex thought as he trekked to where Zeke was preparing the unknown man to be carried off to the burial hole. Zeke had a haunted look in his eyes; Alex noticed when he came upon him. The man was nervously tying a sheet around the new corpse, trying to ignore the red stain that was growing at the head. Kneeling beside the man, Alex took over the tying of the corpse as Zeke took a few breaths from his breather more from nervousness than need for oxygen. After tying up the body and moving it onto the tarp, the two men started to trek to the hole.

"It is not your fault," Alex said after they moved a bit farther from the ship. Zeke stopped in his tracks, causing the tarp to jostle since they were each holding a corner and the corpse to roll partially off the end of the tarp. It was as Alex was moving the body back onto the tarp that Zeke responded.

"I killed a man, I killed him," Zeke said repeatedly in a self-depreciating mantra. Alex sighed, why was he the one who always had to deal with the emotional problems, before he leant down in front of the bowed man. He pulled the man's hands away from his face and started to console the man.

"Did you know he was not a threat to your family?" Alex asked seriously. Zeke shook his head in the negative but did not look up. "Would you do anything to protect your wife?" Zeke nodded his head and mumbled something that sounded like 'kill an army' to Alex. The prospector relaxed a bit and raised his head to look Alex in the eye.

"Would you do anything for your family?" Zeke asked desperately, needing to hear him confirm that he would have done the same thing.

"I would, but I would not need to. Logan would kill any threat before they got ten feet near us and Harry is not as helpless as he may seem, we are just over protective. You did nothing wrong, you saw an unknown man in front of your wife and did what any true man would do," Alex said sincerely. With that said Zeke silently grabbed his corner of the tarp and waited for Alex to do the same. After they started to continue to the burial hole, a curt nod of thanks was the only exchange between the men. Upon reaching the hole, Zeke pulled back the tarp covering the six-foot deep hole. Zeke knelt down to look closer at something only to startle slightly when Alex came up next to him. The men shared a curious glance and shared a silent argument before both jumped down into the hole. Alex held the flashlight, although it was off, and stood a few feet behind Zeke who was closer to the strange tunnel entrance. As Zeke moved closer and closer to the tunnel, Alex started to have a bad feeling about this strange tunnel that just appeared. Clicking noises that were low sounds that could have been imagined become louder and more real right before a scream came from Zeke. Quickly Alex went to grab onto Zeke and pull him back. Unnoticing of the flashlight being squeezed between his hand and Zeke's, Alex stumbles back as a high-pitched squeak comes from the tunnel and a flash of charred white recedes back into the tunnel. Pulling Zeke back from the tunnel and keeping the flashlight trained on the tunnel entrance, Alex looked over the deep gashes adorning Zeke's left lower leg. Both men were startled from their shock or frozen stare at the lighted tunnel entrance when Shazza started loudly asking about their well-being.

"What was all the screaming about? What happened to Zeke's leg?" Shazza asked after she got a good look at the two men in the hole. Soon the scouting/hunting party had returned and Alex felt Logan pulling him up out of the hole where he had not noticed that Zeke had been removed and was halfway back to the ship. Everyone trekked back to the ship and laid Zeke down on the floor of the hull that Harry, the children, and Riddick were located in. The children, who had been unsettled since the gunshot, snuggled closer to Harry when all the adults poured into the hull. Logan growled but a calming hand stopped him from approaching the shadowed Riddick.

"Please Logan, Harry really likes him, and you know you respect him just a bit," Alex whispered into Logan's ear as they approached the group surrounding Zeke. A disgruntled grunt was the only response, but Alex knew that Logan would tolerate the man, after a thorough threatening session.

Riddick smirked as he heard Alex ask Logan to lay off him concerning Harry; it amused him that the man who acted as a mother to Harry was accepting of their quasi-relationship. Of course, he kept his eyes on the group to watch for Johns catching onto his hiding spot. Carolyn, who had split from the group to look for a medical kit, entered the hull with a large white, metal box in her hands. She walked into the center of the group to set the medical kit next to Zeke. "Do you know how to patch up his leg?" Carolyn asked Shazza while opening the kit. When no answer was forthcoming, Carolyn turned to Shazza to see the fear and desperation in her eyes.

"I can patch him," Harry spoke up from his position near the shadows of the room with the two children. Everyone turned to him in shock, except Logan and Alex, who were not so unobservant to walk into a room without knowing if others are present. Johns looked at Harry skeptically while Shazza looked hopeful. Taking a moment to reassure the children and looking pointedly at Alex, who relented and came to sit with the children, Harry approached Zeke. Lifting up the shredded remains of Zeke's left pant leg, Harry pulled his canteen from his hip to pour a bit of water on the leg. However, as he began to tip the canteen, his hand was roughly grabbed. Looking at the hand, whose nails were digging into his skin, and tracking up the blue uniform covered arm, Harry's eyes came to rest upon John's enraged face. Riddick did not feel the growl forming in his chest before it reverberated through the mainly intact hull; luckily, Logan provided a cover as he too was growling. Johns did not back down this time and using his hold on Harry, pulled him to a stand. Logan looked like he was going to approach them, but a look from Harry stopped his approach.

"You aren't about to waste the water kid," Johns demanded in his 'I have the power because I have the gun' voice.

"I need to clean the wound, so I can properly see it, otherwise I won't be able to patch it," Harry said sarcastically. The response to his statement was Johns hitting him in the head with the gun. It was hard for Riddick to stand still while Johns tried to assert his dominance over Harry, although he wondered what his little spitfire would do. Shazza looked furious and spoke up.

"What is your problem? My Zeke needs help and Harry can help him, but no, you don't want him to! You are a spineless, cowardly man with a superiority complex that fuels your undeserving ego! Now either you let Harry help me Zeke or I will shove that gun so far up your ass you will be spitting bullets," Shazza spat venomously. Harry smirked and when Johns' attention diverted to Shazza he brought his free arm up hard, knocking the gun from Johns' hands. 'Unbelievable, the man is so confident that he did not even have a decent grip on the gun' Harry thought. Shazza picked up the gun and pointed it at Johns with no hesitation.

"Come on now, give me the gun before you hurt someone," Johns said in a condescending tone. He quickly lost his composure however when Shazza shot the gun just to the right of Johns' head. Riddick smirked in his shadowed hiding spot, it was obvious Shazza could shoot and had no qualms about killing the annoying man. Looking around at the faces of the others, Johns saw no sympathy in the cold gazes, only Carolyn looked slightly uncomfortable given the situation. Johns released his grip on Harry and stepped back. Harry, now free from Johns grip, poured some of the water onto Zeke's leg and tore a strip from his pants to clean the wound better. With much of the blood gone, Harry could see one large gash near his knee and small, needlelike holes around his ankle. 'Whatever was down there,' Riddick thought as he saw glimpses of the wound, 'tried to bite his foot off.' Looking through the med kit, Harry spotted a needle and thread that could be used to stitch up the deep gash. Sifting through the med kit, Harry could not find anything to heat the needle, although he was able to find some rubbing alcohol, with and sighing softly reached into his pants pocket to pull out his lighter. Running the needle through the flame a few times, after dipping it into the rubbing alcohol, until it glowed red, Harry then set it aside before putting his lighter away. Once the needle cooled, he threaded it expertly and began to sew the gash together. The others thanked whatever being they believed in that Zeke was already unconscious from shock when they thought of how uncomfortable that had to be. Knotting the end of the thread and breaking it with his teeth, Harry poured a bit of rubbing alcohol on the clean end of the strip of cloth taken earlier. Harry then cleaned the wounds with the alcohol before wrapping the leg in bandages and gauze.

"So, anyone going to tell me what happened now?" Harry asked with a raised eyebrow. No one could as the only men that understood what had happened to Zeke was Zeke himself, who was still unconscious, and Alex, who needed Zeke's help to even understand the story much less tell it. The group settled in an uncomfortable silence as they waited for Zeke to wake. Shazza still kept the gun trained on the untrustworthy Johns and Carolyn still looked confused. Riddick was still hidden in the shadows though he knew Logan was watching him. Alex was helping Harry with the children, keeping them busy and not focused on Zeke or Johns. It was about ten minutes before Zeke started to stir. Riddick noticed the panic that filled his eyes until he saw Shazza sitting beside him with a gun. Confused, he looked around until he saw Alex sitting near the shadows of the room with Harry.

"Tell me that was a nightmare," Zeke said to Alex.

"Sorry, but it wasn't a nightmare. Did you get a good look at it because I am almost positive that what I saw could not be real," Alex said back.

"Then you saw what I saw," Zeke said with slight relief in his voice. Noticing the confused look on the faces of all the others, Zeke and Alex started a bizarre tale of some weird tunneling creature that burned in the light with razor sharp teeth and a knife-like tail. Skepticism showed in the faces of Johns and Carolyn, whereas concern showed on the faces of Shazza and Imam. Harry, on the other hand, had a worrisome curiosity/determination in his eyes that put Riddick on edge.

"Maybe we should check out the tunnel? If these creatures are harmful, we should know as much about them as possible," Carolyn suggested. The others, Johns especially, looked at the woman as if she was crazy. Unbelievably it was Harry that jumped at the suggestion.

"I agree, I especially want to know more about them. It might answer a few questions that have been circulating through my mind. Maybe we should all go take a look at the hole and decide who will venture further," Harry stated, although it was unsaid that he wanted to be the one to go down the hole.

"No fucking way," came from the shadows. Riddick groaned as he realized that he had given himself away because of the idiotic idea of that he could sense Harry thinking. Walking from the shadows, Riddick raised an eyebrow when the others tensed in fear. He crossed the room to stand in front of Harry and took his chin in his hand. "You are not about to go down that hole," Riddick growled out.

"Never said I was, just that someone should. Although now that you mention it, I would be the best bet. I am the smallest beside the children and can take care of myself, as my parents know," the significant look that accompanied his last comment made Riddick raise an eyebrow in question. Instead of answering however, Harry moved his hand to Riddick's hip and cut himself on one of the cleverly hidden shivs. Like his father, Harry's wound healed nearly instantly. This did not placate Riddick or Logan, who already knew this information. Riddick could smell Johns' sickly, desperate scent coming closer and turned to face the man.

"You come quietly and I won't hurt you too much," Johns said with false bravado. He still did not have his gun, but was determined to capture Riddick again. Riddick looked slightly behind Johns to see Logan raise a mocking eyebrow at the man. When Johns came at him, Riddick stood his ground and soon had a shiv at the man's neck. An acrid smell reached Riddick's nostrils and he looked down to see a dark patch forming at Johns' crotch. Disgust briefly flashed over Riddick's face before he smirked and pushed Johns away. It was decided, with persuasion from Harry and Alex, that until he struck against them Riddick would be trusted.

It was as the twin suns were again rising that the group found themselves outside the hole. Looking at the small tunnel in the bottom of the farthest wall of the hole, the others turned to Harry who had volunteered to venture down. Riddick and Logan, although still at odds, agreed that this was a foolish idea. Alex wrapped the rope around Harry's waist and handed him the flashlight. With Imam and Carolyn holding the other end of the rope, Harry ventured down into the hole.


	9. Chapter 9

**Note: I'm glad you like or dislike Harry's bravado, figured he would not change all that much from his different circumstances, should be seeing more of Harry as the story continues. Just for those who may feel that Logan and Riddick had an uneventful acceptance, it is not over. I was trying to remember to go back and put the lines for POV changes but I may forget a few as they don't show up from my Word doc to the story online unless I remember to put them back in. Enjoy!**

**Chapter Nine: Down the Creature's Hole/Arguments and Discoveries**

Harry was by no means nervous to go down the hole; he was actually extremely excited. With the rope secure around his waist and a flashlight tied to his wrist, Harry started to crawl into the hole. The dirt surrounding the hole was highly compact and seemed to have this non-natural secretion mixed within it to produce a strange plaster-like feeling. Keeping the light trained in front of him, Harry moved through the tunnel. After a couple minutes, he came to a cavern that had a single spot of light in the middle and tunnels running to who knows where. Looking around the cavern, Harry could tell that something made the cavern, but could not see any animals around. Doing a small sweep with the flashlight, he saw strange sprouts on the floor near the light. Kneeling close to the sprouts and closing his eyes, against the better judgment of his instincts, he could feel that these small sprouts had miles of roots. Feeling the dirt around the sprout, he could feel that even at this depth it was arid and hostile to plant life. 'Perhaps the water is too deep for the planets to make it all the way to the surface,' Harry thought before a clicking sound distracted him. Carefully turning his head, Harry is positive that he saw movement out of the corner of his eye. Turning the flashlight toward the heavily shadowed area, a horrible screech nearly deafened him before something slashed his hand making him drop the flashlight. Harry knows that his hand is healing from the uncomfortable sting that accompanies the healing process. Reaching for the flashlight that rolled about a foot away, Harry has to jump back quickly as a scythe-like thing tries to cut off his hand. Rolling farther away from light and the tunnel opening as he continues to move away from the slashing scythe, Harry wonders just what he got himself into. Pulling out his knives and sitting up into a crouch position, Harry slashes the thing the next time it comes at him only to get splashed with a thick, gooey substance that he assumed was the creature's blood.

Moving back toward the circle of light, Harry is again pushed away when another shadowy creature lunges at him. The creature throws itself directly on Harry's knife but unfortunately was able to get a hold on Harry's shoulder as it was bleeding out. Harry gritted his teeth at the pain, as the feel of thousands of needle sharp teeth ripped apart his shoulder. He could feel the blood coming from his wound and was shocked that his shoulder was not healing as fast as it normally did. Unable to take a moment to check his shoulder, Harry pushed the creature off him and recovered his knife before again making his way toward the light. Another creature jumped in front of him, blocking the way. In the dim light, Harry could see the strange triangular shaped head with all those needle sharp teeth. There was a feline-like grace that could be seen in the lean body and the scythe-shaped tail swayed back and forth like a metronome needle. Although dangerously beautiful, there was no time to admire its grace as Harry searched for a way out. 'Strait through' Harry's mind supplied through the swirl of adrenaline that overtook his mind after the first attack. Throwing one of his knives into the creature's head, Harry moved quickly past the fallen thing, picking up his knife on his way. Finally reaching the light, Harry looked at towards the tunnel fleetingly wondering if he could reach it before he decided to climb up what he now realized was one of the spires that rose up for miles all around the planet. Beginning to climb he felt the rope tighten around his waist until he could not climb anymore, so he started yelling hoping that his father's superhuman hearing would catch the sound no matter the distance he might be from the hole. Just as Harry heard the others starting to dig him out, a particularly vicious tug on the rope pulled him down a few feet. Seeing the hand of his mother come through the opening he reached for it, but could only get the tips of his fingers within reach before he was falling backward back down into the hole. The loud snap he heard as he came to a halt within the small amount of light at the bottom of the cavern raised the already high level of panic flowing through him. An explosion of power filled him with a small amount of comfort before he passed out from the pain.

* * *

Riddick stood with the others at the hole that Alex and Zeke dug for the bodies waiting for Harry to come back out with his observations. Carolyn and Imam kept feeding the rope as Harry moved farther away from them within whatever tunnels that might be down there. Looking at the nervous face of Alex, who was standing practically in the arms of Logan, and the annoyed face of Johns, who still did not have his gun, Riddick wondered what Harry was seeing down there. A strange clicking noise seemed to be growing from the tunnel as Harry spent more time within its depths. Soon, an ear-piercing screech and the smell of blood came from the tunnel that put Riddick on edge. Logan was likewise affected by the disconcerting sound and smells. The rope seemed to be traveling quicker through the hands of Imam and Carolyn before a far-off yell caught his attention. Before the sound could register in his mind, Riddick saw Logan and Alex moving towards the closest spire. Riddick took over the rope duties as the others went to help dig into the spire where they felt Harry was trying to get out. It was not long, however, before a shout of "He fell!" from a frantic Alex had him traveling into the tunnel after Harry. The tunnel was a tight fit considering his size, but once inside Riddick immediately pushed his goggles up to scan the darkness. With a shiv in both hands, Riddick noticed three strange creatures near the circle of towering spiked plants. Moving nearly silently, Riddick came upon the flashlight not far from the plants and saw that it had been torn apart. The plants seemed to surround something that Riddick could catch small glimpses of through the stalks of the plants, he assumed it was Harry. When one of the creatures landed in front of him, Riddick wasted no time dispatching it with a shiv to where he assumed the thing's heart was. Able to dodge the numerous other creatures, Riddick approached the dangerous looking plants. To his surprise, he was able to move the plants aside and move into their circle of protection; however, before one of the creatures could come through the plants quickly reformed to their previous position.

A pained groan alerted Riddick to Harry awakening from his unconsciousness. Harry sat up quickly, which turned out to be a bad idea, as he swayed from dizziness. Kneeling beside Harry, Riddick checked him over for injuries. The copious amounts of blood around his left shoulder alerted Riddick to a problem as his healing ability should have closed the wound long before the blood could gush out to this extent. Pulling the torn fabric back, Riddick could see the wound was deep and raw with some type of viscous fluid keeping the blood flowing, albeit the blood was flowing sluggishly. Harry hissed as Riddick grabbed his arm to help him stand. Hearing the hiss, Riddick checked Harry's arm to see that although he had most likely broken it upon the fall, it was already healed. The pain was probably a phantom pain from not having moved it after the break.

"We need a plan to get out of here," said Harry after regaining his cool composure. Riddick raised an eyebrow at the calm statement. Looking around at the plants, Harry's eyes widened. Touching the plants gingerly, Harry watched as the plant moved under his touch but returned to the previous form after he retracted his hand. The spikes on the plants were only facing the outside and the top of the plants, as if they formed to protect Harry.

"Are you two okay? We need to get you out of there; can you make it back to the tunnel?" Alex's voice could be heard from the hollow spire above them.

"The tunnel entrance is blocked by those creatures, but maybe you can pull us up through the spire," Harry yelled back. It was quiet from topside for a while before an affirmative answer was given. The plan was that Harry would un-tie the rope from around his waist and Caroline and Alex would pull it back out of the cavern, and then they would take the rope to the spire and feed it down. Riddick and Harry watched as the rope slithered back toward the tunnel like a snake, until it could no longer be seen. Moving around each other in the limited space, they could not help but to bump into each other. Whether the touches were innocent, however, would only be known by the two men. A shout from above caught the duos attention and they looked up to see the rope being passed down. When it reached the ground, Harry tied it around his waist and gave a tug. Immediately, he began to travel up until he could climb the walls on his own; Riddick followed behind him. Both men were able to get out without much trouble since the plants seemed to grow taller until there was no space for the creatures to approach their prey. After they were safely out and away from the ominous spires, Riddick watched as Alex brought Harry into a tight hug and Logan gave Harry a vicious lecture.

"What did you see?" Johns asked impatiently, looking back and forth between Riddick and Harry. Harry waved the man off however, and traveled back into the damaged ship where Zeke and Shazza were watching over the children and teens. Immediately upon entering the hull, Harry was tackled by a worried Jack and Ali, who was sobbing. Riddick watched as Harry hushed the children and kneeled down to wipe Ali's tears up. Zeke used his elbow to sit up and scan the faces of those that had gone back to the hole, while Shazza waited patiently for someone to tell them what was happening. Logan grunted and walked into the hull to stand against one of the sides. Alex, who was still shaken from watching his son fall back into a pit of those creatures, went to Logan for the safety of being in the gruff man's arms. The teenagers began to question their father, even as he kneeled rolling his prayer beads through his fingers. Finally, Carolyn who was becoming as impatient as Johns spoke up.

"What the hell was down there?" Carolyn asked in annoyance.

"Monsters, creatures from hell, your worst nightmare come true, you decide," Harry said quietly from where he knelt with the children. Riddick snorted from his place near Harry and the children, but did not speak up to explain what was down there. Carolyn's hands curled into fists at her anger from receiving such an inadequate, flippant answer. 'If there is something dangerous down there, I deserve to know' Carolyn thought angrily.

"Anything else you can tell us," Carolyn demands more than asks, "Was there anything else down there?"

"The creatures are predators, they have triangular shaped heads with mouths full of needle sharp teeth," Harry spoke up.

"And their saliva is viscous, most likely designed to weaken their prey," Riddick said next as Harry most likely did not realize or know that information.

"They have lean, graceful bodies and wings…kind of like a cross between a bird and a panther," Harry said thoughtfully as if he was trying to remember tiny details.

"And that tail is a work of art, it's shaped like a scythe and as sharp as an ax," Riddick said admiringly. The awe in their voices disturbed the others, with the notable exception of Logan, Alex, and the children. Johns glared suspiciously at the duo, feeling like they might have left something out of their recounting. Further interrogation produced the information that the creatures were deadly sensitive to light and could be killed by normal weapons; with the confirmation that there were monsters beneath them, the group started to discuss the small, abandoned town that lay in the desert. Hope seemed to blossom in the eyes of many of the adults as they heard about the small skiff, until Imam decided to comment on Logan's observations. Carolyn scowled deeply at the reminder of the challenge to her authority and began glaring at Logan as the others discussed their options. With the adrenaline faltering, considering he was no longer in a live-or-die situation, a loud yawn came from Harry's mouth. Giggling from the children put a smile on Harry's lips before he convinced the children to lay down with him and the pseudo mother and children went to sleep. Riddick ignored the others as they began to make a plan and went to sit beside the sleeping trio. The furious glare he caught Logan giving him out of the corner of his eyes made him smirk; it was especially entertaining when Big Daddy growled because of Riddick's wandering hand. 'Seriously, I'm above the waist' Riddick thought amusedly. Leaning back against the wall, Riddick closed his eyes and relaxed his body in the closest to sleep he would get when amongst enemies.

* * *

"Listen, I know ships and I know I can modify the ships fuel system to work on the skiff," Carolyn says huffily, continuing to glare at Logan.

"Logan said that it might be possible, it was more the inefficiency that concerns me," Imam says gently, hoping to avoid a shouting match so that they do not wake the others.

"Not to mention the fact you confirm that it can't hold more than four or five," Shazza speaks up with a "That's Right!" from Zeke. Carolyn sighed and rubbed her temples in aggravation.

"I understand that you guys are worried, but we can decide who will go for help and who will stay. There must be somewhere that the ones staying can wait in safety," Carolyn says reassuringly, although there is much skepticism from her audience. Logan chuckles at the ludicrousness of the suggestion, thinking that the woman is either naively optimistic, disgustingly selfish, or in extreme denial. Alex, who is in Logan's arms, looks to Logan for an explanation of his amusement.

"Safety, the town was abandoned with every indication that whoever lived there did so in a non-peaceful way. There was a bone yard full of gigantic beasts that were picked clean, that suggests that those creatures can come up topside at some point. So that leaves one question, when they come, who will be alive to be rescued?" Logan says in a dismal tone that seemed to cast the last bit of doubt needed for the others to reconsider Carolyn's suggestion. Carolyn finally snapped and rushed Logan, but she was soon on the ground from a hard punch from Alex.

"The best _plan_ would be one that considers multiple options that are in the best interest of all present, not just you," Alex snarls at the shocked and frightened woman. "Frankly, I think we should travel to this town just to see if there is anything that we can salvage for the ship and if the people discovered anything about this planet before they disappeared. We can take _one cell_ if you wish to see if converting the cells is possible, but that will not be our sole focus."

"Now you wait one minute, you are not an authority figure here! The only people here with any real authority are me, as the captain, and Johns, as a cop-" Carolyn ranted only to stop in shock as she was slapped hard by an angry Shazza.

"No, you listen to me you little bitch, Alex is right! For those of us who cannot be the four that get to fly out with you, we need to make sure we can survive. Quite frankly, it is disgusting that you are arguing with Alex about the survival of the rest of us," Shazza said in as disgusted a voice as she had when Johns had tried to stop Harry form helping her Zeke. The argument woke Harry from his slumber as the participants of the argument had become louder as they became angrier. Looking between the angry faces and smug looks, Harry looked behind him at the calm looking Riddick before shrugging his shoulders in confusion.

* * *

Finally being told that they were traveling to the town, Harry had the children help him collect food and water for the trip. As they were walking through the halls, Harry felt the familiar feel of plant life. Walking toward the wall, Harry saw a spidery plant that could pass for a crack. Gently fingering the plant, Harry felt that the plant had began growing all around the ship and originated from a single stalk that ran miles underground. Before he could find out more about the plant, firm arms pulled him back into an equally firm chest. "The children are getting worried about their mama," Riddick said in a gravelly voice. Harry opened his mouth to respond, but ended up giving a soft moan as Riddick sucked on his neck. All thought of collecting food and water, or the children that were somewhere nearby, faded as Harry basked in the attentions. Being spun around in Riddick's arms, Harry eagerly wrapped his arms around Riddick's neck. Finally, the two were able to connect lips in a harsh and needy kiss. Feeling Riddick's tongue swipe against the crease of his lips, Harry opened his mouth. Tongues dueled for a moment before a fuming Logan harshly pulled them apart. Alex kept Harry from falling flat on his face from the suddenness of the parting, only the giggles of the children who were a couple feet away brought him back to the present. Logan had Riddick against the wall by a tight grip on his neck, but Harry could see that Riddick was amused.

"What the hell do you think you're doing, touching my kid?" Logan growled out, tightening his grip with every word. Harry's protests were ignored as a single-minded focus kept Logan from accepting that his son could want to be involved with this dangerous man.

"I guess the old saying is true, kids go for men like their father," Riddick said with a smirk. Alex laughed, as he knew that Riddick was adapting the saying of 'girls go for men like their father' but it still was effective. The joking response did not amuse Logan, but before a fight could break out, Harry pulled them apart and started berating them before breaking out into tears. Riddick raised an eyebrow at the display, before a groan from Logan caught his attention.


	10. Chapter 10

**Note: I'm glad you liked seeing more of Harry and your concern for who will live and who will not. As I said, and I'm sure you noticed, the plotline is vastly different from the Pitch Black movie. However, some people still have to die. Enjoy!**

**Warning: Character Death**

**Chapter Ten: Setting Out/Death in the Settlement**

Alex smirked as Harry continued to ignore both Logan and Riddick for 'inanely fighting in front of _his_ children' and set both children with a small satchel, from who knows where, with food and one of his old toys. When Riddick asked one of the children, Jack, where the satchels came from the reply was that 'Mama Harry made them' and that was that. The amusement that shone in Riddick's eyes made Alex consider toning down Logan's hostility, but the entertainment value was too great. Both children held boxes packed with dried provisions, water, blankets, and a few tools. Soon Harry came behind them carrying the med kit, his own satchel, and a box of scrap materials. Watching as Riddick snatched Harry around his waist, only to be elbowed hard in the ribs; Alex shook his head at the similarity between his own mate and the convict. Deciding to help Harry and the children, Alex asked Harry what he could take and Harry motioned to a box containing the more dangerous tools. Logan grumbled as he stalked around the ship trying to keep out of Harry's warpath; he wondered why the fates decided to complicate matters to this extent. Zeke and Shazza, who had finally given Johns his gun back, were putting the final additions on some sleds they made from destroyed parts of the ship near the entrance. Carolyn was standing near the fuel cell wall still obsessing over the skiff and her goal of converting the fuel cells to work in the skiff. Rolling his eyes at the woman's stubbornness, Logan continued stalking around the wreckage only to come upon Johns sorting his shotgun shells. Deciding he did not like the confinement of being inside the mainly intact hull/hallways or deciding he did not like the company, Logan left to stand in the sunlight of the two suns. In the distance, Imam and his boys were praying over the hole perhaps trying to keep the evil beings away. On top of the hull sat the collector, Paris something, sitting in a lawn chair, shaded by a misting umbrella and drinking alcohol; Logan snorted at the thought of the man relaxing while everyone else worked their asses off preparing to trek across the desert.

"Comfy up there?" Zeke called up to Paris mockingly as he limped out next to Logan. Logan and Zeke shared a glance as Paris began to prattle on about the luxuries in life helping him deal with the dangerous surroundings. Harry saved the man from being targeted by a thrown object by calling everyone to gather by the sleds. Everyone came over to see the boxes set on one sled while the other was piled with blankets.

"Why do we have two sleds if the stuff fits on one?" Johns asks in a long-suffering tone.

"Because we have two young children and an injured man that cannot walk as far as you say the settlement is, does that answer your question," Harry says in a tight voice that betrays his short patience at the moment.

"What the hell is your problem, your acting like I do at my time of month," Carolyn says nastily, taking out her displeasure for Logan out on Harry. The silence that enveloped the group was palpable as Harry turned to Carolyn from where he had started arranging the children on the sled. Carolyn gulped as she saw the fury in Harry's eyes as he stalked toward her. Completely stunned by the, to her, unreasonable reaction she was not prepared by the hard punch that sent her slamming to the ground. Glaring down at the woman, Harry kicked sand at her before turning and gently helping the children settle into the sled. Alex laughed quietly at the shocked woman setting off a cascade of amusement in the survivors that knew how accurate that comment might be. Zeke climbed into the shed behind the two children, giving a small smile when they snuggled into him.

"Dad, I want you pulling the sled with Zeke and the children. Riddick, you are pulling the supply sled and everyone else should be between the two sleds," Harry commanded, to the amusement of most and disgruntlement of Carolyn and Johns. As everyone got into position, the angry grumblings of Carolyn and Johns were ended by a stern glare from Logan, Alex, and Riddick. The trek was started in silence, although frightened looks were given to the spires that could be seen in multiple locations on the journey. The children played with toys when bored; Ali had a truck that he moved back and forth and Jack had a ratty-old bear that she moved around in an imaginary dance. Zeke mainly slept, which caused Shazza to shake her head in loving annoyance.

"How long have you been married?" Alex asked Shazza from where he was walking a couple feet beside her. Surprise flitted over Shazza's face for a second from the unexpected question before a serene smile spread on her lips.

"Me and Zeke tied the knot five years ago, but we been together since I was sixteen. He rescued me from life on the farm married to an abusive farm hand that convinced my pa he would make a good husband. What about you?" Shazza asked in return, showing true curiosity.

"Logan and I have been together for a few years; we actually met through Harry," Alex says frowning a bit as he remembered exactly how they met through Harry. Answering Shazza seemed to help calm her nerves as she smiled a bit before falling silent again. Finally, the group reached the bone yard and those that had not been on the first expedition gasped at the sheer size of the bones. Harry separated from the group a bit, touching the bones and exploring the skulls. However, soon they passed the bone yard and were traversing the dunes again.

* * *

Carolyn sighed in contentment when she saw the settlement after walking through the chasm of the two cliffs. She had been getting annoyed by the snappishness of Harry, since, as far as she knew, he had no reason to be so disagreeable. The children were not making her feel any less irritated with their loud playing and uncaring attitudes of the labors of those around them. Perhaps she was just being spiteful, but she swore that the others mistrusted her and Johns for no other reason than the manipulation of the mysterious family. Glaring at Logan again, Carolyn huffed from her spot in the back of the group near Paris. Upon reaching the settlement, Carolyn immediately took the cell and separated from the group to head for the skiff. Meanwhile, Logan showed Alex the atmospheric water retrieval advice where Alex immediately set to work with help from Imam and his boys. Harry decided to explore the buildings, Jack and Ali following obediently. Riddick stalked off to explore the settlement on his own.

"Mama Harry, what is this?" Ali asked shyly, pointing to a solar powered solar system model.

"You can call me just mama if you wish, it wouldn't bother me. That is a solar system model that apparently is solar powered as you can see the planets moving on their own. Hmm, see this is the planet we crashed on, surrounded by three suns," Harry points out after approaching the model.

"Why is the year off?" Jack asks after looking at the year counter. Harry looks at the counter as well and sees that it is off, almost as if it has not seen sun in 22 years. Giving a noncommittal grunt, Harry tells Jack it must be due to the closed windows, although he does not believe that. Leaving the room, Harry and the children go to see if Alex and the others need anything. Coming upon Zeke and Shazza who have found a solar transport vehicle they decide to stay with them and help. Riddick, who came to his own conclusion about what happened to these people, started looking for Harry and the children. 'Something about this place sets me on edge' Riddick thought to himself as he found a covered building. The cowardly treasure dealer came from the side of the building, startling badly upon seeing him. Stuttering out some explanations, the man quickly scampered back around the side of the building. Looking up, Riddick saw the sign declaring the building as the 'Coring Room' before he shrugged and continued his search for Harry. Paris heaved a sigh in relief as he watched Riddick walk away from where he was looking around the corner of the building. Shifting his attention when he felt safe again, Paris continued to try to find a way in the building, after all if the people were miners than there might be riches kept in this room. Scampering around the building, Paris found a small hole that was unfortunately too small for him to move through; however, this did not stop him. Borrowing a hammer from the toolbox, Paris enlarged the hole and quickly climbed through.

Carolyn sat in the captain's chair looking at the monitors that displayed the skiffs operating systems. She gave a smug smile when the displays showed full operational capability on the altered fuel cell. Flipping some switches, she checked the needed fuel requirements for full life-support and launch power. 'Five cells' Carolyn thought in surprise; that was more than she expected to be needed. Running a simulation, she watched the computed progression of the operation systems as time passed with five people, the maximum that the skiff would be able to carry. A scowl crossed her face as she realized that Logan was right, the fuel efficiency was severely depleted; only two months maximum would the life-support be operational. Considering the possible scenarios, the chances did not look good for them surviving to be picked up. Turning off the power and stepping out of the skiff, Carolyn jumped in surprise when Johns stepped out from beside her. "What's the prognosis?"

"The skiff is operational on the converted fuel cell, but it is highly inefficient," Carolyn grumbles in response, annoyed that Logan was correct.

"So, what are our chances if we leave using the skiff? Can it take us all or are some going to need to be left behind?" Johns asked casually, as if he was not debating the abandonment of adults and children alike. Carolyn looked over at him critically, wondering if she should tell him the truth or not. He did not seem to care about the well-being of the others at all, but Carolyn chided herself internally on her suspicion.

"At maximum, the skiff can only take five people. Besides that, the life-support system will only last for two months before it starts to give out. Overall, it does not look good. That bastard was right without knowing how far we are from the shipping lane, it's a suicide mission," Carolyn stated, grumbling the last bit reluctantly. A deep chuckle caught their attention and the duo looked to their right to see Riddick there shaving his head. Not far from them was Logan gathering tools from the sled, but neither man could have heard them as they were talking quietly, at least that is what they told themselves. Shouts of happiness alerted them to the success of the group fixing the water retrieval device. Walking over to the group, Carolyn watched as they turned on the spigot and water began to trickle out. "If Shazza and Zeke have finished fixing the transporter we can take this back to the ship, it's not connected to anything, so we can move it," Alex stated with a smile.

"If we're going to be moving anything, it's going to be the five cells we need to get the skiff off the ground," Carolyn ordered. Alex gave a heavy sigh of exasperation before he walked away to where he knew Shazza and Zeke were working on the solar car. Arriving at the solar car, Alex asked Shazza about the weight requirements and then proposed transporting the water-giving machinery back to the ship. Jumping at the suggestion, Harry and Shazza decide that moving the device onto the car after they have refilled their canteens would be the best choice. After refilling the canteens, Riddick and Logan are convinced to move the heavy machinery onto the solar car by a tearfully upset Harry. Watching as Shazza, Alex and Zeke disappear over the sand dunes; the others decide to gather in one of the side rooms to wait. Johns appeared from somewhere, looking entirely too relaxed for it not to be drug induced. Logan wrinkled his nose a bit as if he smelled something unpleasant, but that was not as impressive as his glare aimed at Riddick, who was sitting close to a hunched over Harry. However, their tense wait was interrupted by a horrifying scream.

* * *

Paris stood up once he slipped through the hole he made in the wall. The inside of the building was dusty and filled with boxes; Paris gulped as he looked around at the shadows. He went to one of the nearby crates and used the hammer to break it open. Rummaging around inside the box, he frowned in disappointment when all he found were miscellaneous items for machinery. Box after box opened did not reveal any precious stones or rare materials, just empty containers, machine pieces, and dirt samples. 'Damn, maybe they weren't miner' Paris thought angrily. It was as he was going to leave that he heard the clicking sound described by Zeke, Alex, and Harry. Looking around he could not see where the sounds could be coming from until a fluttering from above him caught his attention. Raising his head, he gasped as he caught sight of the possibly sleeping creatures. Unfortunately, as the terrified man turned to get back to the hole, he tripped over a nearby box. Not only did he fall to the ground, but also the miscellaneous items in the box scattered rousing the creatures. Angry clicking filled the room as Paris ran for the hole. Before he could reach the hole, Paris had to fall back as the creatures flew in front of him. Frantic and looking for a place to hide or escape, Paris headed for a nearby cabinet. Putting a hand to his heart, Paris thought himself safe until he heard the clicking next to him. A scream was ripped from Paris' mouth as the creatures began to rip him apart.


	11. Chapter 11

**Note: For those of you who are wondering why I kept the 'someone gets killed in the coring room' part, it's really because I could not figure out any other way for the group to find out about the upcoming eclipse. Although, the eclipse will not be happening as ridiculously fast as it does in the movie, it will still be quick enough. (Seriously, though did any of you people think that someone should have noticed a huge planet coming out of nowhere way before Fry's rush to the solar model?) So, on with the show!**

**Chapter Eleven: Countdown to Darkness**

Hurrying toward the Coring Room, which is where Logan and Riddick both explained the screaming was coming from they encountered a locked door. The argument with Johns about shooting the lock out wasted valuable time, but soon the door opens with an eerie creek from obviously long un-oiled hinges. Johns and Carolyn looked at the shadowed room hesitantly, believing that they were wasting time by recovering the body of the dead antiques dealer. Harry moved a bit closer to his father and Riddick while being thankful that the children stayed in the relatively well-lit housing area with Imam and his boys. Logan and Riddick both shuddered internally at the pungent scent of death, fear, and hunger that escaped the room. Walking into the dark in search of the cowardly man, Harry subconsciously kept close to Riddick and Logan and away from Carolyn and Johns. For propriety's sake, Johns began to call the name of the man, although he doubted that an answer would be received. A flashlight attached to Johns' rifle lit the way as they crossed the room, avoiding the raised platform. Minimal light filtered in through the slightly open vents in the ceiling, at least the amount that was not scattered in the upper beams. Thumping came from the side of them causing the already high-strung group to spin startled towards the noise. A few feet in front of them laid a tall cabinet with thick doors; most likely, it was used to hold equipment. Deciding to check out the cabinet, Carolyn moves forward to open the door. With her hand shaking, Carolyn took a hold of the handle and slowly turned only to fall back in panic when a swarm of bird-like monsters came at her from the dark. Watching in amazement or fear, depending on the observer, the group watched as the swarm circled the room before disappearing down an unseen hole in the middle of the platform. A gooey, mutilated body falling from the inside of the cabinet brought people's attentions to the absolute horror that was Paris P. Ogilvie's remains.

"Shit, those things did that! You never told us that those things were so dangerous!" Johns hisses angrily at Harry, only the dark glare promising pain from both Riddick and Logan kept him at bay. Harry was kneeling next to the cabinet puking, Riddick kept his hair back. Although Logan was alternating his glare from Riddick to Johns and back again, he was not so unobservant to notice that Carolyn Fry was moving closer to Harry.

"Is he okay?" Carolyn asked, although very little concern entered her voice.

"Probably can't handle seeing a dead body," Johns said in a mocking voice, although he knew the reason for the boy's illness; however, Carolyn seemed to be his only ally, so he would give her no reason to bond with the kid. A deep growl rumbled from Logan's chest as he focused his glare on Johns alone. After Harry finished emptying his admittedly empty stomach, Harry straightened as much as he could with the excruciating cramps.

"Why do you think the vents aren't completely open?" Harry asked in a scratchy voice. Riddick shrugged next to him. Carolyn suggested they take Paris' body and place it in one of the other structures before informing the others and examining the coring room in more detail. When they left the coring room with Paris' body, Logan took care to pull the rest of the cloth covering the building away. It was just as Riddick, Logan, Johns, Carolyn and Harry were about to re-enter the room where Imam, the teens, and the children were that Zeke, Shazza, and Alex pulled up in the solar car. Alex took one look at his extremely ill son and jumped from the vehicle to allow the hurting boy to lean on him. Walking into the room, practically carrying Harry, Alex noticed the absence of the treasure collector. Raising an eyebrow at Logan, Alex nodded at the silent command to wait. Sitting around the room, Imam asks the question on Alex's mind.

"What happened to Mr. Ogilvie?" Imam asked glancing between Carolyn and Johns, who seem the only willing or able to answer him. Harry, who had thought about the mutilated body, grabbed a nearby box and began to puke again. The uncomfortable looks passed between Imam, his boys, Shazza, and Zeke amused Riddick. Jack and Ali ran over to Harry worriedly, although they calmed when Alex explained in a quiet whisper that their mama was only ill for a bit and would be better next week. Comprehension shown in Riddick's eyes as he remembered Alex explaining Harry's ability to bear children while he was still tied up in the hull of the ship, although he wondered at the arousal that flared in his body at the realization. Logan, who stood against a wall behind his family, crossed his arms to prevent himself from attacking the convict that his son seemed to be infatuated with. Johns explained about the gruesome demise of the cowardly man in a disconcertingly gleeful way. It seemed the idea of the creatures being in the settlement sparked the thought of what happened to the original inhabitants.

"Do you think what happened to Mr. Ogilvie happened to the people who lived here?" Suleiman, one of the teens asked anxiously, looking around as if the creatures would appear from nowhere.

"No, they probably were picked up long ago without ever finding out about those creatures," Carolyn said soothingly. Riddick and Logan both rolled their eyes at the idiotic explanation. It seemed that Zeke agreed for he posed another question.

"Why would they leave all their stuff?" Zeke asked challengingly, believing that these people did not leave and whatever they found out before their deaths could be useful. Shazza smiled at her husband, believing as he did that such a delusion should not be encouraged.

"I don't know, weight requirements maybe," Carolyn said huffily, glaring at Zeke. 'Why are these people questioning me? I'm the damn captain' Carolyn thought bitterly.

"These people did not make it off," Harry said softly from his hunched over position in between his parents. The children at his feet nodded their heads as if in conformation of their mother's explanation. An annoyed scoff came from Carolyn and an unbelieving snort came from Johns as both held to their delusion of escape from the monsters. Both were soon paling, however, when Harry stood before them screaming about rudeness and idiocy. It was obvious that the others were amused at the display by the muffled laughter that could be heard. Dark glances passed between the Carolyn and Johns, who were the object of everyone's amusement, before they suggested that they check out the coring room for any information. Everyone was quiet as they moved between the two structures, ignoring the huffing 'authority' figures. Entering the coring room, the original explorers of the room noticed that the room was much lighter than before. Logan kept an eye out for his family, which included the two children that Harry seemed to adopt unofficially, as everyone looked around the room for some clues.

* * *

Riddick stood on the platform that surrounded the hole in the middle of the room. He listened with half an ear as Shazza explained that the original inhabitants were most likely geologists and this room was were the drilling took place for core samples, of course, everyone besides Carolyn and Johns could have figured that out themselves. Beside him stood Harry, with his arms around the two children, looking futilely down the hole. In the background, Riddick knew that Logan was stalking around the room. 'That man seems hell bent on keeping me away from his family' Riddick thought with a smirk. Pushing his goggles up, Riddick looked down the hole to see all the bones that lined the walls of the hole as far as the eye could see. Nearly blinded by the bright light of the flare that Johns lit a couple feet away, Riddick quickly replaced the darkened goggles over his eyes. As the flare fell down the hole, he could hear the gasps of shock from the others who came to see what was down the hole. Lining every inch of the walls of the deep hole were bleach-white bones, skulls of varying size could be seen indicating that both children and adults were picked clean. Quiet sobs caught the attention of a few, who looked up to see Harry and the children crying. Smelling only sadness, without fear, Riddick moved closer to comfort them a bit, although stopped when Logan's confrontational stance came into his peripheral view. Rolling his eyes at the man, Riddick could not resist making a comment to the terrified looking Carolyn.

"Heaviest doors, came in here thinking they would be safe, but forgot to lock the cellar," Riddick stated in a low, casual voice. The physical flinch from Carolyn at the unexpected comment amused Riddick.

"Well this just confirms that we should get the skiff ready and get off this planet," Johns said assuredly, unnoticing of the glares from all those that disagreed with the plan.

"If the skiff can't hold all of us than why would we agree to that," Shazza hissed in a menacing tone, her hand was twitching as if wanting to cause physical damage to the ingrate.

"Listen-" Johns started only to be cut off by the barely audible whisper from Harry who had moved over to look at the core samples along the walls with the children.

"Twenty-two years," Harry whispered as his eyes made it to the last core sample date. Riddick saw his eyes widen as if the answer to a huge mystery was solved. Alex moved over to stand next to Harry, keeping the kids in arms reach as Harry had done before he became distracted. Carolyn also became interested in whatever Harry was so distracted by not to notice Johns angry muttering.

"Want to repeat that?" Johns asked nastily, annoyed that he had been interrupted while trying to convince the others that getting the skiff fly-ready was the best option, never mind that most of the survivors would not be able to leave because of weight requirements.

"Twenty-two years ago, that's when the last core sample is dated," says Harry in a tone that implies the next time Johns questions him it should be in a more polite tone. When Zeke asked what that meant, in a much politer tone that Johns had, Harry only motioned for the others to follow him before he quickly left the building. They followed him to a room that contained a solar system model in the corner that spun on its own. Harry moved to the crank next to the year-counter and began to turn it. Everyone gathered around the counter watching as the years continued to get closer to the current year. Riddick watched in fascination as the orbit of a large ringed planet and a smaller moon came closer and closer to the central planet, which is where they were currently. Finally, when the counter reached the current year the ringed planet and the smaller moon pass closer to the planet than the suns and eclipse them. Horror is the common expression on the faces of those that realize the gravity of the situation, except for Logan and Riddick who seem a bit excited and Harry who is focused on continuing the turns. Finally, Harry stops turning the crank; Riddick notices that he stopped after the planets broke from the eclipse.

"An eclipse, this can't get any damn worse can it? Do you see why we should get the fuel cells here now, it's our only chance," Johns borders on pleading, while looking frantically between the other survivors. Still the others did not look anymore convinced that the skiff was the only way to survive, especially since it would not allow for the safety of more than half of them. Riddick listened with half an ear to the arguments amongst Johns, Carolyn, Zeke, and Shazza. Imam and his boys seemed content to follow whatever decision the others made, secure in their faith that God would protect them. Most of his attention, however, was on Harry who seemed to be figuring something out and discussing the options with his parents. Some sort of agreement must have been made for Harry then made his way over to Riddick and took hold of his shoulders to have stability while on his tiptoes.

"I have a couple other tricks up my sleeve," Harry began to whisper in Riddick's ear. Riddick ignored the chill that went up his spine at the close contact or the feel of Harry's breath against his neck, as he was not able to reach his ear even on his tiptoes. "One of them is to encourage plant growth. There are plants here even in this environment, all around the ship wreck are vines that I believe can bear fruit and Mom fixed the atmospheric water collector. That takes care of our major needs; if we can adjust the electrical wiring of the ship operations system then we can turn the lights on. Dad says that the lights can run off one fuel cell for months, so those creatures would be repelled. Even then, I might be able to knock down their numbers. I figured out that the eclipse would only last for six months as took eight cranks to cause a year to pass on the model and four cranks from the start of the eclipse marked the end. Don't mention any of this to the others, I do not trust Carolyn and especially am wary of Johns. We decided on a compromise situation, you'll see." Johns seemed to notice finally the intimate whispers occurring between Riddick and Harry and decided to break them up.

"What are you whispering about, if there is something you need to say, say it!" Johns said hostilely. Harry turned, keeping intimately close to Riddick despite his father's annoyed grumbling, to raise an eyebrow at Johns. Riddick smirked at Logan before encircling Harry's waist with his arms and placing his chin on the top of Harry's head. The children moved to either side of Harry making a picture of a happy family, which Johns commented on, "What is this, a bonding situation? Oh, I get it. The kids are latching on to you because you are showing them the time of day, makes you seem like a good person and less of a threat. Then of course, it could be because of that motherly instinct that I heard all childbearing people have; of course, that does not account for you being buddy-buddy with Big Bad. Maybe you're a little whore-"

A knee to the groin cut off whatever Johns would have continued to say. Before his eyes unfocused from the pain, he noticed that it was little Jack that had kneed him. Falling to his knees in pain, he saw only disgust, fury, and betrayal in the eyes of the others. Carolyn did not know how to feel about the revelation that Harry could have children; it meant that he could have some type of menstrual cycle like a woman. Riddick watched as Harry half-heartedly berated Jack for attacking an adult, although the pauses to muffle his laughter did not help. As the group left with Johns being dragged in between Imam and a disgruntled Alex, they noticed a purple moon on the horizon where the blue sun was setting while the twin suns started to rise. Murmurs of fear and prayer could be heard amongst the group. Everyone moved to the solar car where he or she crowded on as Shazza started it up to return to the ship. When they reached the ship, Carolyn and Johns headed immediately toward the power room that held all the fuel cells with the others close on their heels.

* * *

"Okay, you need to decide now, who is coming with me to the skiff and who is staying? The skiff has weight requirements that will limit the number of people we can take to five maximum. Now, I'm not going to sugar coat things, this is risky. Unfortunately, the fuel cells do not convert well and with five people, we will only maintain life support for two months, if that. We could last longer with less people, but I understand that you guys will want to get off this planet. I don't know what will happen to those that stay but for the ones that do, good luck," Carolyn states after she turns to face the gathered survivors. Glances were exchanged and quiet conversations held until everything became silent again.

"We will go, for our calling is in New Mecca," Imam said motioning to himself and his two boys, "Ali can stay with Harry, regardless of if he stays or wishes to go. The child is not really made out for the strict structure of Chrislam and faces prejudice for the sins of his parents." Harry scowls at the thought of the bigotry that was religion, even in his original time such things occurred, although he was pleased that he would be allowed to keep Ali with him.

"We aren't taking chances with our life and the life support shorting is definitely a chance we aren't taking," Shazza spoke for herself and Zeke. A derisive snort came from Johns at her comment. Turning enraged eyes to the man who finally regained his composure after being dropped by a nine-year-old, Shazza explained why staying with the monsters was a better option, "At least here on the ship we can devise some way to survive, there is no guarantee that the eclipse won't occur while on route to the skiff. Fry already said that five was the maximum so even if we wanted to go, we couldn't-"

"We could bring more, I could bring more fuel cells, exchange them while in space," Carolyn suggested, trying to give them encouragement or hope for survival and escape. Shazza declined an answer, which garnered a relieved sigh from Carolyn. Harry laughed internally at the quiet mumbling about self-absorbed women and their suicidal plots that Shazza started to spew. Turning her questioning gaze to Logan, Alex, and Harry, it was obvious by the look in their eyes that they preferred to stay and the children were staying with Harry. Actually, Harry noticed his dad was glaring at Carolyn. 'Maybe he disagrees with her plan of escape still, even if we agreed on a compromise' Harry thought as he looked between his dad's glaring visage and Carolyn's contemplative eyes. Riddick seemed to look calculatingly at Harry, remembering his whispered comment about a plan. Johns, however, seemed not to accept a nonverbal answer and pressed the all male family.

"Are you staying or going? Of course, you can always stay and get your family killed by those monsters. Your little whore of a kid will probably be the first to go, after all he probably will start bleeding soon if he hasn't already," Johns grumbled nastily, feeling secure in his safety and therefore secure in his authority.

"Did you not learn your lesson the first time," Jack hissed in anger with a gaze promising pain. Harry placed a hand on his tomboyish little girl's shoulder to prevent her from physically attacking the insulting man. He whispered in her ear that 'Grandpa' would take care of it, and sure enough, Johns was against the nearby wall in the blink of an eye. Logan had him by the throat and before any could stop him, the claws of his other hand were embedded in his abdomen. A gasp escaped Carolyn's lips and Harry noticed the fear in her eyes. Interestingly, Shazza and Zeke seemed pleased that the man was out of the picture. The children smiled brightly at as the man coughed up blood and watched in avid interest as their Grandpa took the dying man outside.

"How could you do this, especially in front of the children you consider your own?" Carolyn asked in terrified shock. Her eyes darted between the other survivors as if they were all responsible for Logan's behavior. 'Perhaps they are, no one stepped in to stop Dad after all' Harry thought amusedly. Surprisingly it was Shazza that answered the shocked woman.

"We are on a dangerous planet with man-eating monsters and you're worried about the death of a crooked, drug-addicted mercenary! The children do not need to be coddled; they are both orphans and most likely seen worse if it doesn't scare them. You should be happy he is dead; he most likely would have killed you once he got somewhere safe, so you couldn't tell anyone the location of his prize," Shazza said mockingly, waving to Riddick as she said the last word. Carolyn's eyes widened at Shazza's accusations and looked between the other's for some sort of confirmation or negation of the words. Many looked at the woman as if she were a moron for believing the man, never mind she was not present for the confrontation between Johns and Alex, the only that did not seem mocking with their gazes were Imam and his boys who refused to meet her eyes. Deciding not to dwell on the past, Carolyn recruited Imam and the boys to help carry the necessary four more cells needed for the skiff out to the solar car. When they left, the twin suns were high in the sky and the ringed planet came into view.

* * *

Zeke and Shazza turned pleading eyes to the calm quasi family, hopeful that one of them had a plan. Alex motioned them into the hull and turned expectant eyes on Logan. The gruff man walked over to a section of the wall and seemingly pushed on a random part of the wall, Shazza and Zeke were surprised when a panel opened up to show numerous wires. Riddick moved over to the man in a silent offer of help. While the two dangerous men were cutting and reattaching wires, Harry began to speak, "I am telling you this in utmost confidence. I have gifts, as does my father, but one of my gifts I am sure you noticed is the ability to heal myself. The other two are what I am going to put into play now. There are plants around the hull; vines along the walls that I can feel bear fruit. Also I can make animals that I draw come to life, I think I can create something that will eat these things or at least drive them to endangerment."

Although skeptical a bit, the couple agreed to not mention it to anyone if they decided to leave when and if help came after the eclipse. Alex sat the children down near where Harry sat with his eyes closed in concentration and had them play with their toys. Shazza and Zeke became nervous as the light coming in from the outside became darker as if in twilight, until they noticed the greenery along the walls of the hull and hallways. The vines became a brighter and brighter green until they started to sprout flowers every half a foot. It was as the last bits of light began to fade that dread truly settled in their hearts and they feared they made a mistake. Just as loud clicking sounds filled the air, the light in the still intact parts of the ship came on. "This should last us through the eclipse."


	12. Chapter 12

**Note: I am glad that you like the story and am pleasantly surprised that you all were so approving of my twist on the story. Some interesting suggestions have been given and I understand that some of you feel like John's death was bitter sweet, but truthfully it surprised me as well. I knew that I wanted to kill him but I did not know how and as I was writing, Logan suddenly just stuck him and I was like that works! **

**Sorry it has been so long, but my computer got screwed up and was in the shop. Hope you continue to enjoy the show!**

**Chapter Twelve: Escaping the Darkness/Making a Nirvana in Darkness**

Carolyn kept her foot heavy on the accelerator, especially as the light started to fade. They had passed the bone yard and were now entering the chasm, which was shadowy in the fading light. Hearing clicking noises, Carolyn prayed that the brief shadows would not affect the operations of their only means of transportation. The speed of the car slowed in the canyon and Imam put an arm around his boys to keep them near. 'I hope we can make it through' Carolyn thought desperately. Click, click, click came from around them. Although slowing a bit, the car kept moving through the shadows. Click, click, click came louder; it almost seemed like the creatures were right next to them. 'Pick up speed god damn it; pick up speed' Carolyn pleaded in her mind while pushing the accelerator harder into the floor of the car. A cry from behind her caught her attention and for a split second, she lifted her foot a bit. Looking back, she saw that one of the boys had had his back sliced open. 'Oh my god, we have to get out of here!' Slamming down on the accelerator, Carolyn felt the car speed up some, but the other side of the canyon was still too far and it was getting darker. Another cry had her turn her head, not making the mistake of letting up on the accelerator, the other boy was taken before Imam could make a grab for him. She understood the grief that made Imam ask her to stop, but she was not foolish enough to think that the boy could be saved. Making it out of the canyon was a relief, especially when she could see the settlement. The speed of the solar car picked up and she took a brief moment to look back at Imam in sympathy.

* * *

Riddick watched Harry manipulate the dead-looking vines into blooming, but became concerned when he passed out afterwards. Moving over to him from where he and Logan had miraculously worked together on hotwiring the electrical system, Riddick kneeled beside Harry and felt for a pulse. Breathing a sigh of relief at feeling the rhythmic beat, Riddick is blindsided by the children asking if their mama is okay. Although cool on the outside as he answers, on the inside he feels slightly shocked about the concern and protectiveness that Harry stirs within him. When he finally looks up, Riddick sees an amused smirk on Alex's face and a disgruntled frown on Logan's face. It was a few minutes before Harry stirred and when he did the first thing that came to Riddick's mind was how beautiful those big green eyes were. 'It still amazes me that I can see them' Riddick thought to himself as he stared into those green eyes. Harry blinked a few times to adjust to the bright lights before he sat up and reached for his satchel. Pulling out his sketchbook, Harry began to draw the most vital animals first. Shazza looked over his shoulder to see partial drawings of birds and insects covering the page.

"What are you drawing?" Shazza asks, unsure how insects and birds relate to surviving the eclipse.

"The necessary elements for the vines to bear fruit are birds to pollinate the plants and keep the insects in check, which are needed to keep the plant growth in check," Harry said in a teacher-style voice. Zeke muffled his chuckle, knowing his wife would not appreciate it. Shazza huffed a bit, but the amused smirk showed she was not truly offended. Alex sat to play with the children and keep them occupied, as their mama needed his concentration. Riddick stood with his arms crossed a couple feet from Harry anxiously watching him as if waiting for him to pass out again. It was a long moment before Harry finished; Zeke and Shazza watched in astonished amazement as the recently finished paper glowed a bright white before hundreds of fluorescent insects crawled or wiggled out of the page, slowly after that a few fluorescent birds flew out of the page as well. Harry turned around slowly to see the fish-out-of-water expressions on Zeke and Shazza's face before he lay down and fell into an exhausted sleep. Shazza moved forward in concern, but Alex shook his head at the woman.

"He is just exhausted, during his fertility cycle the concentration and energy required to control his powers is too much for his body to handle. He will be fine soon enough," Alex said reassuringly to the concerned woman.

"If this is how he is now, then what will he be like pregnant?" Shazza said half-serious, half-joking.

"Oh, he will be much worse pregnant. He would be constantly exhausted and have much worse mood swings. Plus, he would eat much more than he does after the initial vomiting period," Alex said, frowning a bit at the end. With that said, Alex convinced everyone that some sleep would be good considering that none of them had had any in quite a while. Moving over to the side of the room that Logan was sulking in Alex sat next to his disgruntled partner. Riddick's goggle-covered eyes were trained on Harry and the kids but Alex would not be surprised if the man could hear everything that was said. Riddick looked on fondly as the kids cuddled with Harry and considered moving to lie beside his pseudo family. It amused Riddick greatly to hear Alex ask the man to play nice, as it was a great possibility that he did not have defense against the intense pheromones that Harry would emit when he was ripe. 'So, telling the man that I will most likely knock up his kid because of extreme lust is suppose to make him fight this less?' Riddick thought in amusement. It seemed Logan was less than amused as he started to grumble about over his dead body and kill him first. Riddick smirked and decided to move to lie down beside Harry and the kids. The grumbling from Logan increased a bit, but a loud smack and a muttered "Stubborn Ass" from Alex quieted it down.

* * *

They made it to the settlement, but just barely. The eclipse was almost finished and the monsters were very close; each fuel cell that Carolyn and Imam had to move to the skiff seemed to take too much of their valuable time. It was pitch black when they finished installing the cells and Carolyn hurried into the ship to turn on the lights. With the lights illuminating the area around the skiff for a couple feet, Carolyn felt secure to go help Imam bring his boy up the ramp. 'Hope we can get help for the kid, or else he might not make it' Carolyn thought in sympathy. Walking down the ramp, Carolyn went over to Imam who was holding his son up and offered to help. Imam was grateful for the help, as his boy was hard to carry, but he could not help the poisoning feelings directed toward Carolyn Fry. It was a slow process to get back in the skiff, as they had to drag the boy between them. Once inside, Carolyn pushed the panel that closed the hull door and moved to sit in the captain's seat. 'How many would have been lost if we had all come on the off chance that we could escape this planet? I wonder if the others are even still alive' Carolyn thought morosely as she went through the motions to get the skiff ready to take off. Meanwhile, Imam buckled himself into a seat and held his son tightly in his arms. Looking back to see if Imam and his son were buckled in, she took hold of the controls and soon they were zipping through the air and out into space. A sigh of relief escaped Carolyn when she saw only blinking stars all around them. Turning in her chair, Carolyn crossed the small space between her and the holy man.

"How is he?" Carolyn asks anxiously, her eyes taking in the pale appearance of the young teenager.

"I am not sure, but I am praying to Allah that he will survive until help arrives," Imam says quietly while brushing the hair off his son's sweaty face. 'The kid looks bad' Carolyn thought with a internal flinch at the thought that staying at the ship would have kept Imam from losing one kid and watching the other die, 'but then we wouldn't have been able to get off the planet.'

"Well we should be on a course that will take us to the shipping lane," Carolyn said hoping that it would cheer the man up a bit.

"You aren't sure if we are even on a course to the shipping lane? What else aren't you sure about?" Imam spat angrily, before he closed his eyes and muttered a bit before apologizing, "I am sorry, forgive me as I have asked forgiveness from God. I am just extremely concerned about my son and have not yet grieved for my other son."

"It's alright, I understand," Carolyn said, not letting her fury or annoyance coat her voice, "but I think is the best I can do, since Owens was the navigator." A stilted conversation continued for a while before Carolyn decided to get some sleep. Unknown to them, there was about to be a major problem.

* * *

Logan woke up quickly and opened his senses to his surroundings, as was his custom. Hearing the buzzing of the insects and smelling the perfume of the flowers made his smile a bit in remembrance of the shocked expressions of Zeke and Shazza. However, his smile faded as he remembered seeing the convict lay next to his son. Sitting up as quietly as he can, he raises an eyebrow when he notices his son snuggled comfortably in Riddick's arms. A low growl vibrates through his chest before he took a breath as Alex suggested when he became 'unreasonably' angry. 'Harry likes him, Harry likes him, Harry likes him' went through his mind repeatedly as a mantra to not attack, but it did not help. Riddick woke to the feel of someone watching him and was not surprised to find that it was Logan. His arm tightened a bit around Harry's waist until he caught the scent of blood. Confused, until his mind supplied the knowledge that Harry was a bearer, Riddick smirked and nuzzled the side of Harry's neck. Harry grumbled a bit before he woke with a start and dashed to the side of the room where Logan and Alex must have brought the luggage up. Logan and Riddick watched as Harry frantically searched the pile before pulling a large, black duffel-type bag to the edge. After searching it a bit, Logan saw Harry pull out his Chem-X tampon. Thinking about when those nifty things were invented, Logan remembered when womankind rejoiced at the once-a-day blood control. Each tampon had three layers that worked together. The outside layer was made of a super absorbent cloth that caught the blood and siphoned it to the middle layer, which was a hollow shell around the inside layer. Once in the middle layer the blood was trapped via a semi-permeable membrane and destroyed by an enzymatic chemical that comes out of the inside layer when biochemical sensors detect the blood. By destroying the blood, the flow continues to the middle layer and therefore the cloth layer does not become filled and the Chem-X tampon can be worn for an entire day. Moving his attention to Riddick, Logan had to continue his mantra when he noticed the hard-on the man seemed to be sporting watching his son deal with the start of his bleeding. Alex started to wake next to Logan and Logan watched as Alex stirred a bit before stretching. 'He always stretches before he wakes, much like a cat' Logan though amusedly before he again became annoyed at Riddick when the man grabbed his son from behind. Riddick was pleased when he was not elbowed this time and annoying Logan was a plus. Unfortunately, he was soon dispatched from his position when Harry moved away to wake the children.

After everyone had awoken, Harry reexamined their situation with a clear head. The monsters were outside surrounding them, their agitated clicking loud in the frightened survivors ears. Bright lights cocooned the mainly intact part of the ship providing a sort of security blanket for them to move around freely. All around the ship walls were dark green vines with beautiful blooms of white and cream colored flowers. Fluorescent insects buzzed around sparkling in the light brightly before disappearing in the thick confines of the vines, similarly the larger fluorescent birds flew around from wall to wall feasting on the insects and sipping the sweet nectar of the blooms. Around the room in piles against the walls was all they had to work with: a pile of luggage that contained their belongings and the miscellaneous other passengers belongings, a stack of boxes that had some dried provisions, a large metal box with the few medical supplies left, and some scrap pieces of metal/weapons. Humming in thought, Harry began to direct the others in various activities to make their confinement in the metal prison more tolerable. His mother, he directs to create a sort of plumbing system for the atmospheric water collect, which he learns is in an adjacent room. His father, he directs to scout their area and ensure its security, especially the cargo hold as they could be made into living quarters. Shazza and Zeke, he asks to create an inventory of all assets, including scrap metal and miscellaneous items, handing them a pencil and some paper from one of his many notebooks. The children he gave a similar task, except that their inventory sheet was limited to their current room. As everyone went about their duties, Harry once again sat in the middle of the room with his sketchbook in his lap. Riddick not having been assigned a task stayed close to Harry and the children, watching as Harry began to sketch and the children pattered around the room.

Riddick watched in amusement as the children went about their task with seriousness and determination. Jack wrote down the information as Ali moved the objects around to get a more accurate count. Whatever Harry was drawing seemed to take much more concentration than the insects or birds as little lines formed in his forehead and he nibbled, unthinkingly, on his bottom lip. Soon, the children were done and set the paper down near their mama before going to play with their toys. Similarly, Zeke and Shazza came back from their inventory duty and set their own much longer list next to Harry before sitting to the side of the room to speak quietly to one another. It was just as Logan and Alex entered the room looking a bit too ruffled to only be developing a piping system that Harry finished his drawing. The glowing of the page was no longer as awe inspiring as the first time witnessing it, but the creature that came out was astonishing. There were two of them; they were about the size of a large dog. Thick armor plating covered every inch of them except for two strange, sunken holes in the place of eyes. Toothless mouths opened in a yawn like motion as long spiked tales moved from side to side. However it was the single long, curved claw on each flipper like foot that truly had them guessing what the creature was.

"Digger, that is what they will be called," Harry started to say in an obviously exhausted voice, "they will grow to a larger size as these are just babies." The incredulous looks upon some of the faces made him laugh a bit.

"So, what does it do then?" Zeke asked in curiosity as he stared at the strange thing.

"They eat eggs, which they locate with their intense sense of smell. In case you are wondering how they smell considering they have no nose than I must tell you that the holes in the face are chemical receptors that work like our noses do. So instead of eyes they are extra large nostrils. They will live for approximately 60 years and hit sexual maturity in their twentieth year. So, these babies should slow down the reproduction of those beasts at least," Harry said with a small smile. Riddick smirked at the intelligence Harry displayed in creating a creature that was the perfect match for the monstrous beasts outside. This time, Harry did not collapse in exhaustion to the relief of Riddick, although he did close his eyes for a bit. Zeke and Shazza watched as the two infant Diggers began to move toward a hallway that while lit contained an opening to the darkness that surrounded them. Jack and Ali went back to their playing while their mama rested for a bit, knowing that whatever plans that were to be made did not need their input.

"Were you able to create a piping system for the water collector or were you preoccupied?" Harry asks with a mischievous glint in his green eyes to add to the obvious suggestion held within his words. Alex blushed a bit at his son's forwardness in his teasing, but was able to stammer out a response to the effect that the piping system was finished. It was after a bit of good natured snickering from Zeke and Shazza that Alex seemed to be able to compose himself enough to clarify on his clipped answer.

"The atmospheric water collector, despite its name, can be used inside a structure or outside. There was already an elaborate filter system within the mechanism of the machine to purify the water before sending it to a collecting tank where the spigot allows up to use the purified water. I fixed the faulty filtering system inside and the damage done to the outside components of the structure when we first brought it back. Of course, there was a piping system in the ship already for water and air due to the need in prolonged life-support systems. So, I checked those out to see where they led and how damaged they were; it was then that I ran into Logan. We noticed that the water pipes and the air pipes were intact, so with some reconfiguring of the pipes I have the water set to run throughout the ship."

"Are there pipes in the cargo hold and the room at the end of that hall?" Harry asks pointing toward the hallway that the diggers had just gone down. At Alex' nod, Harry gives a hum of approval before picking up the sheet of paper in front of him that he supposes are the inventory sheets. Looking over the longer list first, Harry smiles a bit before setting it down to read the shorter list; after both were read, Harry sat there for a bit as he thought up a plan. 'What is going on in that mind of his?' Logan thought as he watched his son take it upon himself to figure out how to survive this hellhole. Alex sat on Logan's lap as the group ate some of the nutrition bars that were amongst the dried provisions. The two of them talked quietly back and forth as they wondered what plan Harry had cooked up. It did not take long before Harry told them of his plan, however.

"We have a few different rooms to work with in what remains of the great Hunter-Gratzner. It is lucky that there was a cargo hold in this part of the ship as all that room can be used for living quarters. From what I gathered from the inventory of the ship contents, there is more than enough to make our stay comfortable. The room on the end of that hall has the most sand inside of it out of all the rooms that we have to our disposal, I was hoping to start a garden of sorts inside it. If you guys help, I think we can make a pretty comfy temporary home out of this situation," Harry says in determination.


	13. Chapter 13

**Note: The in-depth info on the Chem-X was not meant to freak you out, so sorry if it made some of you uncomfortable. Many things will be revealed and some surprises are in store for those of you that are sticking with me. Thank you for all the comment and for pointing out my weak points; it is very helpful. Hope you continue to enjoy the story!**

**Warnings: Slash with a Slight Lemon/ Murder, and if you did not catch it before Mpreg**

**Chapter Thirteen: Complicated Situations**

One of the rooms that was changed the most was the room that contained the atmospheric water collector. It was turned into a kitchen/refrigerator/holding pen/dining area. The wall that was shared with the fuel cell room was divided to make the refrigeration unit and holding area. Using the strength possessed by Logan and Riddick, the group was able to construct a wall using the metal from the cryo chambers to enclose the space that would be the refrigeration unit. Some of the cryo chamber doors were used to make an insulated door to enclose the refrigeration unit and unused pipes were rigged to run off existing ones into refrigeration units that were implanted in the cryo chambers to prevent burning from entering an atmosphere. Using another of the fuel cells, Logan and Riddick were able to hotwire the system so that the cooler could operate for an indefinite amount of time, much like the lights. The holding pen consisted of a metal fence with three adjustable bars acting as a gate. When asked what the holding pen was for, a much mellower Harry answered that some other essential creatures were required. Since Harry had ended his bleeding, he was a less demanding task maker, although he still ran the show. A table and counters were constructed from the wooden crates that housed the larger cargo for the dining area and a stove was made under a hole in the ceiling for cooking meals. With that room done, the group took a break from the nonstop work that they had been doing for a moment of relaxation. Sitting in the original room that they had contained themselves in, they sat eating nutrition bars.

"So, how long until he is fertile and ready to conceive?" Shazza asked Alex quietly from their position next to the box of provisions. Looking around to see if anyone had heard their conversation, she did not see anyone looking in their direction.

"You do realize that both Logan and Riddick have super-human senses, don't you?" Alex says in amusement, "But to answer your question, it should happen about two weeks after his bleeding stopped. The pheromones will start a few days before that though."

"Pheromones, aren't those like the things that animals put out to attract mates?" Shazza asked in confusion. Alex could hear Riddick's soft chuckling from his position near Harry and could almost feel Logan's scowl against his back.

"Humans release them too, just to a lesser extent. Harry, however, releases them to a much greater extent. The doctor believes that his body is hard-wired to find a mate strong enough to challenge his father, who you can see is quite protective," Alex replies to the confused woman.

"Oh, so wouldn't those overload the senses of someone like Riddick?" Shazza asked with a look in her eyes that showed that she wondered about how that would affect the group, although she was amused as well. Alex only gave a smirk in response as he picked up a couple nutrition bars and sauntered back over to Logan. Sitting next to the surly man, Alex saw the small upturn of Riddick's lips from his spot a few feet from Harry. The next couple weeks were spent working on converting the cargo hold into living quarters for all but Harry, who was working on the garden. Pulling the plants to the surface was exhausting even when his powers weren't being zapped by the start of his fertility cycle. All of the plants were edible or medicinal in nature that covered the sandy soil. Moss-like weeds crisscrossed the top of the sandy soil and small fluorescent grubs that seemed to be native to the planet appeared briefly before disappearing into the sand again. Not paying attention to his surroundings as he pulled more and more plants to the surface, Riddick startled Harry out of his task when he grabbed Harry from behind as he was wont to do. Smacking Riddick in the arm to get him to let go only resulted in a deep, comforting growl that reverberated through Harry, calming his agitation immediately. Harry could feel Riddick's hands roaming in nonsensical patterns on his stomach and chest; the touch to his lower abdomen sent jolts of pleasure coursing through his veins. Leaning back into his embrace, Harry noticed the bulge pressing into his lower back. Before Harry could respond, Riddick was ripped away by a pissed off Logan.

"What the hell is going on here?" Logan said in a dangerous voice, seeing the dazed and needy expression of his son. The pheromones were strong in the air, but Logan refused to allow this convict to take his son. With Riddick pinned to the wall at the front of the garden, Logan was so focused on him that he did not seem to notice the others who had come to investigate why Logan had run off in the first place. A kick to the jaw seemed to dislodge the man, although it was only for a moment before Riddick had to dodge Logan's metal claws. Riddick pulled two bone shivs from who knows where and sliced Logan's side open, as ineffective as it might be. Logan got a good blow to one of his arms, causing three deep gashes. To the surprise of many, Riddick healed as well although not completely, just enough to not die from the wounds. Unfortunately for Logan, the blow did not cause Riddick to drop his shiv. Several more blows were exchanged with no efficacy, before two jabs and a round-house kick to the head in quick succession dropped Logan. It was nowhere near enough to knock the man out, but as Alex could see when Logan stood up, it won his respect.

"If you can knock me down then I guess I can deal with you going after my son, but I don't want to see you doing it. Or hear you, or-" Logan said, Alex started dragging him away when he began his laying down the law speech that no doubt would be impossible to follow. Raising an eyebrow at the non-confrontational resolution to the daddy doesn't like you situation, Riddick turned his attention back to Harry who was still standing where he had been left. Approaching Harry, Riddick quickly resumed his activity of exploring Harry with his hands. Harry arched into Riddick's strong form as much as he could and moaned when Riddick's hands rubbed against his hyper-sensitive nipples. Riddick smirked at how responsive Harry was being and began to suckle on the junction where Harry's neck met his shoulder. Feeling that there was not enough contact, Riddick began to rip Harry's clothes off. Harry seemed to not even be coherent enough to protest as he allowed the forceful removal of his clothes until he was standing bare in front of Riddick. Touching Harry on his bare skin seemed to put Riddick in the mood for much more as he felt his pants get much too tight. Responding to the situation, Harry turned in Riddick's arms and pressed snuggly against his front rubbing provocatively against him. A groan escaped Riddick's mouth before he palmed Harry's ass cheeks and lifted him up for those long legs to wrap around his waist. Soon, he had Harry against the same wall he had been pressed up against by Logan.

"What's taking so long, just follow your instincts," Harry hissed when Riddick's began to suck on a random spot on his neck. Riddick growled a bit before moving a hand to squeeze Harry's manhood hard in protest to being ordered around. Although he did move his hand to where he knew Harry's puckered entrance to be and slowly began to circle it.

* * *

Logan seemed to have a constant growl rumbling through his chest as they worked on converting the cargo hold into living quarters. Shazza looked amused at Logan's annoyance although she knew better than to call him out on it. Zeke seemed sort of sympathetic as he could imagine having to eventually give his own daughter permission to date some boy he did not care for, although he could also see the hilarity. Alex seemed to be able to ignore the sullen man as he directed the kids to help him move things out of the large cargo boxes that seemed to dominate the room. There were wall frames up in some areas and piles of scrap metal, wood, and miscellaneous possessions in the corners. In one of the un-cleared areas, Alex and the children came across a sarcophagus, most likely from the ancient times when Earth was thought to be the only inhabitable planet. Opening the top, they were surprised to find bottles of a dark amber liquid arranged strategically throughout the sarcophagus. Calling over the others, they were equally surprised by the bounty of liquor, but closed the sarcophagus in favor of perusing the contents at another time.

"Do you think that antiques guy, what's his name, was a bootlegger?" Shazza asked after the sarcophagus was closed and the children were sent to clear away some of the things in another of the boxes.

"Paris and it looks like it, doesn't it? Makes you wonder what he was searching for in that coring room, huh?" Alex murmured, moving to clear away the surrounding objects, "Maybe we should break down this box around the sarcophagus, I doubt we can move it."

"Wouldn't he be able to move it with the help of Riddick?" Zeke asked jabbing a finger at the still aggravated Logan, who only growled a bit louder at the mention of the convict.

"Maybe, but I doubt we will see much of Riddick for the next few days," Alex said before a loud scream of passion seemed to confirm his statement. Only the hand that Alex laid on Logan's arm kept him from rushing towards the sound to separate the convict from his son, not that it would have done much good considering the implications behind that scream. Zeke and Shazza seemed to try to hide their discomfort through coughing and snickering at the same time, although it did nothing for Logan's ire. The awkwardness of the situation was interrupted by little Ali asking an innocent question with a not so innocent answer.

"Is Riddick hurting Mama Harry? Why are they screaming?" Ali asked in obvious confusion. Jack did not looked nearly as confused as a young child should be; although neither did she have the mischievous precociousness that Alex had seen in children that were exposed to sex too early. Interestingly enough, it was Logan who was able to convince Ali that his mama was not being hurt as much as he hated to say it. True to Alex's prediction, Riddick and Harry were missing for the next few days. The others spent most of that time working on converting the cargo hold so as not to let their thoughts wander to what was occurring in the garden. When the couple did finally descend to the cargo hold, it was quite obvious that things between them were different. Riddick had a firm and possessive hold around Harry's waist and a cocky smirk on his lips. Harry, however, seemed to be looking around anxiously. Finally the children spotted them and immediately barreled towards them, somehow remembering to weave around the adults in their way. The relief that could be seen in Harry's eyes just confirmed that he considered these children his own and the forceful hug that he bestowed upon them further cemented his place as their mother figure. Of course, after the hug was completed, the children looked between Harry and Riddick slyly.

"So, if you're our mama and they're your parents, then that makes them our grandparents right?" little Ali asked with an air of seriousness as if everything was determined by his answer. Harry nodded and held a laugh when Ali turned and proclaimed Logan his 'Grandpa' and Alex his 'Grandma'. Then with that settled Ali and Jack turned back to each other and shared a look before Ali again asked about who belonged to his unorthodox family, "So, is Riddick our daddy now?"

* * *

Carolyn woke from her fitful slumber about monsters and blades and glowing green eyes to see red lights flashing from the control panel. Quickly untangling herself from one of the two blankets that they were able to take with them from the ship, she scurried over to the control panel. Pressing the appropriate buttons to pull up a screen displaying the skiff status, she gasped at what she saw. The skiff showed red caution areas in the life support systems. Pulling up other screens to show the power available to the skiff and other important systems, she dismayed over the power levels and was shocked to see all other systems down. 'What is going on? Why are all the systems down, we should have had more than enough power?' Carolyn thought in panic. Deciding that the low power levels are most likely responsible she focused on them and ran a diagnostic simulation. Looking as the ship showed the power being full as all the fuel cells were put in place; then take-off, she watched in horror as the fuel cells depleted drastically. Running another simulation to discover how much time their life support would last as is, she gasped in panic to see that as is the life support would only last another month, if that. Checking how the simulation would change if only two people were on the skiff, Carolyn's eyes widened at the much better results. Moving up to wake up Imam, Carolyn devised a strategy to get the results that she wanted.

"What is it?" Imam asked sleepily after checking to make sure his son was still comfortable. Remarkably the boy had stabilized a bit after they moved into outer space, although he was still in need of medical care.

"The fuel cells were more inefficient than first thought," Carolyn stated in a sullen tone. Thinking back to that sociopathic murderer Logan, she wondered if he had known more about the possible repercussions to using the skiff than he let on.

"How inefficient? Will we be able to make it to the shipping lane?" Imam asked worriedly, glancing at his sleeping son. He had covered him with the only other blanket and had torn a bit to wipe the sweat from his brow when he came down with fever a bit ago. Noticing the look in Carolyn's eyes, he did not have to know how bad to know that the woman was begetting a devilish plan.

"Life support systems are the only up at the moment, but as is the life-giving system will only last a month," Carolyn said quietly as if to speak it more loudly would cause the life support to suddenly short out. Imam closed his eyes briefly before opening them again to stare questioningly at Carolyn.

"So what do you propose we do then?" Imam asked while combing his fingers through his son's hair. A tingling suspicion told Imam that whatever she proposed would cause intense strife between them. Carolyn paused before pitching her idea and watched Imam interact with his dying son. The silence hung between them for a moment before Carolyn heaved a heavy sigh.

"Well the systems will last for a little longer than two months if there were only two people on the skiff," Carolyn says carefully, watching Imam for a reaction. As expected the man widened his eyes at the implication of his words and moved to block her view of his ill child. The deathly pale teenager remained oblivious of the plotting woman, but his father hand ceasing its movement through his hand did catch his attention. A soft moan from his son turned Imam's attentions from staring at the pilot in shock, but his son did not open his eyes or speak a word. "Do you see, it would be more merciful to end his suffering, doesn't God say that death is more peaceful?"

"His time will not be decided by our hands!" Imam roared furiously.

"Even if it would save us?" Carolyn cried back, forgoing her carefully laid plan.

"It might save our physical bodies, but it would damn our immortal souls. Do you truly believe I would agree to a plan that would separate me from my children for all eternity?" Imam tried to talk sense into the panicked woman. He could see that it was ineffective as the woman ruffled through a nearby bag and retrieved a syringe filled with some liquid. Moving more fully between the woman and his son, he tried again to talk sense into the woman. Carolyn didn't care about the moral dilemma, after all she was willing to kill an entire ship worth of people, what was one dying boy. She ignored the man and uncapped the syringe.

"This is the only way; it will be merciful and quick. This is a highly concentrated solution, more powerful than morphine; it will kill him swiftly," Carolyn tried to soothe, while inching her way toward the boy's arm. Imam shook his head in denial and nearly missed the woman's lunge for his son. Quickly getting in the way, he did not expect the pricking feeling of the needle or the harsh burn of the liquid as it entered his arm. Shock covered Carolyn's face as she watched the light leave the man's eyes. 'Why would he do that!' Carolyn thought as she watched the man slump over lifeless. Hearing the low moan from the boy who seemed to be trying to wake as if instinctually he knew something was different; Carolyn considered the boy's chances. 'It truly would be more merciful' she thought before she moved to kneel beside the boy and placed her hands around his neck.

* * *

The next few weeks after Harry and Riddick's absence was interesting to say the least, as the children persisted in calling the gruff and dangerous man daddy. Shazza and Alex watched from the sidelines, wondering if a pregnancy might compromise Harry's control even more than his fertility cycle. Everything in the cargo hold was sorted through and much of the wood was put into wall frames that sorted the area into housing structures. It was when the group began to discuss or argue about how they would fill in the walls that Harry showed his first symptoms of a possible pregnancy.

"We should just use the rest of the wood to finish the walls, we can break down some of the furniture that was held here for whatever we might be missing," Shazza suggested.

"Then we wouldn't have anything left to operate the stove," Alex pointed out, "maybe we should use the scrap metal."

"There is not nearly enough scrap metal for that," Zeke pointed out, "I think using the wood is our only option."

"Could we go out with lights and bring in sand, perhaps find a way to solidify it and make a brick-type wall?" Shazza asked considering that they would need the wood for the stove.

"We couldn't bring in nearly enough and finding a way to solidify it would use up quite a bit of water, I don't think we have enough for something that adventurous yet," Alex answered.

"Well, then we are all out of options," Zeke said dejectedly.

"We might not have any other options to finish this, we have to use the wood," Shazza said determinately.

"But Grandma said the wood was important for running the stove," Ali objected to the amusement of Logan and Riddick who began to chuckle. Although still tense, the two had made some progress on getting along with one another. Shazza grumbled at being told off by a seven-year-old and forgetting exactly who the child's parents were laid into little Ali. Not long after she initially snapped, she was face to face with an irate Harry.

"What the hell is your problem? Ali was only trying to remind you of the important of wood for the _wood_-burning stove, but hey if you don't want to be able to cook your veggies or eventually meat than whatever, eat it raw! Have you all forgotten that I can control plants, you know those spindly green things that can grow to towering heights?" Harry yelled, not realizing that with his anger the plants were growing in a web-like pattern along the wall frames to produce the filling that was just being argued about. Shazza backed up slowly from Harry like one would from an angry animal, looking around for some help. Finally, Riddick took pity and moved to put an arm around Harry's waist. Logan took a good sniff and groaned. Alex and the children watched as the walls finished forming and Harry finally fell back into Riddick's arms in exhaustion. From this position, which was essentially a hallway that led to four suites and the stairs, it seemed that a curtain of green was pulled around them. Only the doorways were spared from the cover of green. Moving Harry more securely in his arms, Riddick carried Harry through the nearest doorway, which happened to be the biggest suite that was designed for Riddick, Harry, and the children.

"So, is he pregnant?" Zeke asked from where he was trying to settle his wife's frayed nerves.

"Oh yeah," Alex said with a shake of the head as he herded the children into the suite behind their parents.


	14. Chapter 14

**Note: So, Harry's already experiencing some symptoms of a possible pregnancy; remember that his symptoms will be more severe than average. Whether or not he realizes his predicament is unknown for now, but is an interesting element to the story. Carolyn's plight is not over yet. Now on with the story!**

**Chapter Fourteen: First Trimester/Rescued**

Harry woke up on a soft pile of blankets in a green colored room. It took a bit to realize that the green was not an artificial color that someone painted, but living green plants that made up the wall. Wonder filled Harry as he knew that he was responsible for the living walls, but he did not remember pulling the plants upward to form the web-like pattern. Blinking a few times to jog his memory, Harry only remembered his verbal attack on Shazza. Looking around, Harry did not see anyone although he could hear movement and voices from the next room. Moving towards them, Harry looked around the doorway to see Riddick playing with the children. Ali hung onto Riddick's neck and Jack had a firm grip on one leg, but even the dual attack did nothing to prevent Riddick's movement. Laughing at the scene, Harry did not expect two sets of worried eyes to swivel toward him or the barrage of questions.

"Are you alright mama? You passed out in daddy's arms and I thought that lady hurt you," Ali said worriedly as he tried to drop from Riddick's back and go over to the confused green-eyed man.

"Yeah, what happened? First you were yelling at Shazza and then all these plants started growing in the frames…" Jack asked with her face scrunched up in confusion from her place on the floor after letting go of Riddick's leg.

"You scared the shit outta your parents," Riddick stated gruffly. Harry rolled his eyes internally knowing that Riddick was also worried, although he would never admit to such an emotion. To Harry's eternal amusement, his children had no qualms with calling their father out on his fib. Two sets of eyes, one brown and the other blue, shot accusatory glares at Riddick before they moved around him to envelop their mother in tight hugs. Holding onto the children, Harry looked over their heads at Riddick to see the amused smirk on his lips.

"I'm fine kids, really. Momma just fainted, I guess from using so much energy to create the living walls. Everything will be fine and I know your daddy was worried too, no need to glare at him," Harry said soothingly to the children. Riddick folded his arms over his chest and watched Harry continue to sooth the children of any fears that he was sick or dying, in case of the morbid imagination of Jack. Walking out of their suite, they did not see any of the others, although Riddick could hear shallow breathing coming from the far suite and the muffled steps from above. Ascending the circular steps to the multi-purpose room as Harry dubbed it; they saw Logan sitting at the table eating a nutrition bar with a bottle of liquor in front of him. Harry frowned at the sight and moved towards him to take the bottle, but before he could Alex showed up and pulled him back. The frown was overtaken by a glare that was aimed at his mother for his interference. Unfortunately, the effect was minimal if there was an effect on the calm man.

"But Dad said he wouldn't drink, he told me so when I was still young!" Harry cried out in indignation, mainly from the interruption in his plans to take the bottle from his father.

"He won't drink again, he just needs to calm himself after a revelation that he is not exactly ready to handle. How about you help me in the garden and we collect some more of the edible leaves and such?" Alex suggested motioning to his half full basket of leaves, stems, and even some roots. It really helped that the act of bringing the plants forward and strengthening them sped up their internal processes. Harry reluctantly agreed to help his mother and left to roam the halls, bringing the children along with him. Riddick sat across from Logan and raised an eyebrow when the man offered him the bottle with a sarcastic 'From soon-to-be Grandpa to new Daddy' line. Taking the bottle from his hands, Riddick took a long swig before handing it back, still slightly hesitant about this newfound camaraderie.

* * *

Even now some fruit could be seen growing on the trees, still too small to be of any use yet, but they were there. Alex could only wonder what the fruit of this planet would look and taste like. The lower vines were bare of flowers and it was here that the edible leaves prevailed. Watching as the children picked a few leaves from each bunch that Harry indicated would be the best in taste, Alex pondered about the next eight months. Harry cut a bit from the vine edges and placed that in the basket as well, explaining that it would add some flavor when asked by his inquisitive children. They continued moving through the halls until in the unspecified room that still contained boxes, luggage, and the many things in the cargo hold that they had yet to find a use for, Harry pointed out some small, bumpy berry-type things clustered seemingly randomly amongst the vines. Wondering about the diversity of plant types within the ship, considering the small space, Alex made a mental note to ask about it. The bumpy little fruits were fleshy and a bright purple in color. Several of these were placed in the basket, beside the many leaves and few stems/roots. This continued on for some time before the group returned to the multipurpose room. Upon arriving, Harry was happy to see that there was no more liquor bottles in his father's or Riddick's possession. Setting the basket on the table between the two men, Alex and the children began to pull the various food stuffs out and sort them into categories. Meanwhile, Harry gathered the necessary supplies to prepare the food to be stored safely. As they were working, Alex broached the question regarding the diversity of the plant life.

"How are there so many different types of plants available to us? Even on one vine there are multiple food types available. Then there is the variety present within the garden, many of which I have never seen before. Do you mind explaining that to me, Harry?" Alex asked as he resorted a few stems that had been placed in the roots pile. Harry continued to arrange the various dishes that they had available to them on the counter before he began to explain the best he could.

"Although my power over plants is not the complete control that I have when creating animals, the plants still do their best to conform to my wishes. I knew when I was calling the plants, that we would need many types of food to sustain ourselves without repercussion. Therefore, a large variety of plants were made available in a small amount of space. As for the unknown plant types, I suppose these are the plants that would be native to this planet if those creatures had not decimated the food chain," Harry replied with a shrug. Moving to look over the sorted produce, Harry hummed in satisfaction before grabbing a handful of leaves and taking them to the counter. Alex, Logan, Riddick, and the children watched as he cleaned the leaves with a minimal amount of water before placing them in a small metal pan, one of the many metal cook wares that Shazza had rigged from the leftover scrap metal.

"Riddick could you get me some wood for the stove?" Harry asked, adding a "Please" later when he considered that it would be the polite thing. Riddick just grunted, before disappearing down the stairs. The fourth door in the living quarters, which was conveniently located close to the stairs, contained the wood, broken down from the boxes; this would be where miscellaneous things were stored. After all, the children would need somewhere to play when everything calmed down into a more day-to-day routine. With the wood, Harry started the stove burning and set the pan, which contained the leaves suspended in water, onto the grill-like top to boil. Alex watched his son in his domesticity in quiet contemplation. 'Will he be able to have this if we leave this planet?'

While Harry prepared and stored the produce, the children played with their toys on the floor nearby. The others took up their own tasks, in hopes to have the environment more stable before Harry became too heavily pregnant. Logan and Riddick began moving the things to either the storage room or the suites that they belonged in, while Alex perfected the irrigation in the garden. As they were moving things, Logan and Riddick were confronted with the musky smell of sex. The groans/moans, while soft, were easily heard by their enhanced hearing. It was uncomfortable to say the least, but they continued their task. A while later Zeke and Shazza left their room, only to encounter Riddick and Logan carrying things into the extra room. However, the moment was interrupted by the terrified cries of one of the children. Without a moment's hesitation, the object in their hands was discarded and both men were racing to the stairway. The couple followed at a slower pace, but arrived to see Harry vomiting violently into a battered clay pot. Riddick was holding back his hair, while Alex rubbed soothing circles on his back. Shazza went to comfort the children, who she could see feared for their mama's health. Zeke stood beside Logan, who watched on with a grimace. This arrangement went on for quite some time, well after Harry began to dry heave. Finally, the fiasco ended. Harry was carried by Riddick down to their suite so as to lay down for some rest, while the children stayed with their grandparents. Sitting down around the table, Shazza began to ask the questions she so needed to know.

"So, was that just a normal pregnancy symptom or is he ill?" Shazza asked in concern as the vomiting seemed excessive compared to what she has seen women experience. She was not expecting the humorless laugh from Logan or the heavy sigh from Alex.

"For males, the normal pregnancy symptoms are three-fold worse than for females. That is why we are trying to get everything organized the way that Harry wants it, so there will be no added stress for Harry. Oh, there is a shower system in each suite. It should be in the smallest room traveling down from the ceiling or wall," Alex said both to explain the vomiting and to inform them of the option. Considering the slight wrinkling of Logan's nose, the couple spent some time reacquainting themselves with each other. A smirk of amusement could be seen on Alex's lips when the couple turned bright red, excused themselves, and hurried down the stairs. It seemed the children had a few questions of their own as their eager faces appeared in Alex's line of sight.

"Is it true? Is it true?" they asked excitedly together.

"Is what true, little ones?" Alex said teasingly, knowing exactly what the two bouncing children wanted to know so much about. Logan raised an eyebrow at the children before rising from his chair to continue the task of moving the unneeded objects into the storage room.

Over the next couple weeks, all the little projects were completed and the refrigerator was well stocked with produce. Although Harry still experienced severe nausea, he still stubbornly did all the gardening and cooking, which was occurring more frequently. Currently, Harry was spicing some vegetables for a broth and cutting some fruit for a fruit salad. On the table was some hard bread that came in the rations packages on a clay platter. When Harry was cooking, no one was allowed in the kitchen. Therefore, everyone was doing their own thing. The laughter and excited chatter of the children could be heard from the next room and Harry knew that his mother was tending to the garden. Putting the fruit pieces in one of the bowls, Harry set it on the table beside the bread and moved over to the seasoned veggies. Picking up the veggies and placing it on a platter, he moved to drop it into the pot of boiling water that was already sitting on the stove. Riddick came up behind Harry as he finished dropping the veggies in the water and snaked a hand around his waist. Hugging him close, Riddick took a whiff of the cooking vegetables sighing at the delicious scent. Feeling Harry try to loosen his hold, Riddick released him, stood back, and watched Harry work. Movement from stew to countertop was fluid as if there was no trouble doing both tasks simultaneously. Soon, the pot was set next to the fruit salad and bread platter. Eating was interesting as everyone waited to see if Harry would feel nauseous enough to begin vomiting again. Apparently the tense atmosphere was not lost on Harry and he quickly became upset.

"What is your problem?" he asked in an angry hiss, glaring at everyone at the table except the children. Shazza squirmed in her seat at the glare, but the low chuckling from the side of the table caught her attention and became the focus of the glare. Not receiving an answer, Harry began to grumble under his breath a bit before returning to his meal. After finishing the meal, Alex set about cleaning the dishes. Everyone else discussed their current situation. Zeke and Shazza were hoping that a rescue team would come for them. On the other hand, Logan and Riddick were talking amicably about the few necessities still needed to survive on the planet. Harry had his sketchbook in front of him and seemed to be absorbed in his drawing. The subject of the drawing was anyone's guess. Jack and Ali had left the room to continue their play.

"What are you drawing?" Alex asked upon his return after finishing his task. Harry does not answer but moves his pad to make it more visible to the others. The beginning of a feline was sketched on the page, although the purpose was a mystery to some of them. Ignoring them in favor of the drawing, Harry seemed to not notice the conversation switched to him and his pregnancy.

"Do you think he even suspects that he is pregnant?" Zeke asked watching the oblivious young man switch pencils to better simulate the various mixed colors within fur.

"Doubt it; otherwise he would not even attempt using his powers at this time. At least not intentionally," Alex answered watching his son in concern. The others, except Logan, startled a bit at his answer. Riddick moved closer to Harry in hopes to prevent any injury from a collapse.

"You know what would be nice, some way to get meat," Zeke said in a wistful tone, both from actual want and to change the subject.

"I'm sure that Harry will create more animals for just that reason and others. Regardless of the instability of his powers during this time, he will see the necessity of having those animals around. Plus his body will need that sustenance as his pregnancy continues," Alex stated in a very technical manner.

"He would do better if we could get off this rock. Maybe we should have went with Carolyn," Shazza mused.

"You'd have been dead long ago if you went with that fraud. If the creatures didn't get you on the way to the skiff, the faulty power system would've given out killing you all," Logan said harshly, angry that the woman was questioning the plan that his son had come up with.

"Or Carolyn would have done you in herself, who knows whether Imam and his boys are still alive," Riddick added in.

"You don't know that! You could just be putting her down because she was friendly with Johns," Shazza defended, although she began to question her trust in the supposed captain. After all, the gruff men had not lied to her so far. Seeing the contemplative expression on her face, the men refrained from tearing into her any more. Any further conversation was derailed by the telltale glowing from Harry's sketchbook page. The moment the glowing subsided, Harry began to fall backwards. Riddick prepared for the possibility and having quick reflexes caught Harry well before he could have reached the floor. Scooping him into his arms he left down the stores no doubt to lay Harry down in their suite. Sitting on the table next to the sketchbook was a slender regular-looking cat. Its fur was a sandy brown in color except around its eyes where it was a dark brown color. Long, sharp looking claws adorned each paw and its slender tail ended in a small fluffy point. Stretching a bit, the unnamed cat jumped down from the table and left the room. Shazza and Zeke sat in surprise, although that was soon disrupted when a loud squeal was heard from the next room. A chuckle came from Logan before he too moved away from the table and left the room.

* * *

Harry was beginning to become suspicious of his father, mother, Riddick and their children. The children seemed more cautious and careful around him, which was odd because his vomiting alone would not cause such deliberate concern. Especially since they were not seemingly concerned with the strange symptoms he was experiencing. Riddick and his father seemed to be on alert whenever he went within a foot of his sketchbook much less opened it. His mother, well, his mother was acting pretty normal. It was more the amusement that Harry kept noticing in his gaze that set Harry on edge. This had been occurring for the last week, since he had drawn the cat in hopes to control the bird population. No more cats would be added until well after the eclipse ended, to prevent the decimation of the population. More often than not, Harry would hear murmurs of conversation that would be ended the moment he entered the room. Quite frankly it was beginning to annoy the hell out of him. Leaving his garden to find his mother or lover, Harry mumbled to himself about secret keeping jerks. Finding almost everyone in the kitchen, except the children and Riddick who were most likely in their suite spending time together, Harry stormed over to them.

"What exactly are you people hiding from me?" Harry demanded with his hands on his hips.

"We're not hiding anything Harry," Alex said, although he could not keep the amusement out of his voice.

"Bullshit, don't lie to me. I know something is going on that apparently everyone but me knows about, so what is it?" Harry snarled angrily. If anything the amusement in his mother's eyes increased and Zeke tried unsuccessfully to cover his laugh. Harry began to glare darkly, a look he learned from his father to encourage truthfulness.

"Don't try that with me, if you're father can't successfully cow me with his patented 'Don't fuck with me' glare than you have no chance to succeed. Perhaps our secret is something that you should know yourself, something that you should know about your own body," Alex said trying to push Harry into discovering the answer for himself. Harry paused at that answer and truly thought about what could be so important that he should know about it. His eyes widened as he began to stutter out what everyone already knew. They watched as Harry turned abruptly on his heel and stalked down the stairs. Walking into their suite, Harry saw Riddick standing in the middle of the main room. Moving over to him quickly, Harry slapped him hard.

"You got me pregnant and didn't tell me," Harry accused, but soon his anger melted into elatedness and he jumped into Riddick's arms exclaiming happily that they were going to have a baby. Up above Logan was chuckling at his son's mood swing and upon telling Alex what he heard, smiled along with Alex at the thought of Harry's happiness. The feeling of elatedness did not leave Harry for the next week, as he continued about his routine. However, as Alex expected, Harry realized that they need a few more things to have proper sustenance. Moving over to his sketchbook, Harry was sure to alert Riddick and his father of his plans so if he passed out he did not hurt his growing child. Sitting down at the table with Riddick standing not far, Harry began to draw an animal that would give them milk. As he drew, Harry did not notice the others come into the room to grab some food from the bowl setup on the table for just that purpose. Every now and then one of them looked at the strange creatures that were being revealed on the paper. Instead of the singular focus that Harry displayed previously when drawing, he remembered to stop to eat and such. He was nearly done when Harry decided to cook a meal for everyone, wanting his children to eat something substantial. After finishing the meal, Harry finished his drawing and quickly placed it inside the opened pen before backing away. The four animals left in the pen after the glowing settled down were interesting to say the least. All four were deep brown in color and had six stubby legs. A curved raised spine bone graced their backs and the largest two had similar curved extensions on their sides, much like wings. Two small horns graced their heads, although on the two smallest they looked more like bumps than distinctive horns. They were strange animals. Moving forward to take his sketchbook back and close the pen, Harry began to explain his latest creation.

"I call them pseudo-winged munchers. The two larger ones are a mating pair, but the male only produces sperm every three years. This further ensures that he will not try to kill the young to impregnate the female, which would stop the production of milk. Milk comes from extensions on the females wing-like curved sides. Although the milk is safe to drink, the adult animals are not safe to eat. That is their defense mechanism. Infants to young adolescent animals are safe to eat, however, but we must ensure at least one young is available for future need." Zeke and Shazza stared at Harry dumfounded that he comes up with these things on his own, but quickly composed themselves. Fortunately, this time Harry did not pass out, although he did begin to vomit violently in the now dubbed vomit pot. The next few weeks were less stressful as Harry focused on storing food, so that when the plants stopped production they would have food.

* * *

Carolyn sat at the controls obsessively checking the system settings and navigation assessment. If she was truthful with herself, she had no idea if she was near the shipping lane or if she had gone the right way upon leaving the hellish planet. She saw that although she had bought herself time, the life support was again at critical condition. 'I know that I am not the best of people, but if you spare me I will truly do my best to help those that were left on the planet' Carolyn thought hoping that if there was a God he was truly as merciful as Imam had stated when he was alive. Strapping into the seat, she pulled a blanket around her to get some sleep. She woke to blaring alarms and looking at the display saw that after three months the life support was finally giving out. Trying desperately to figure out something she turned off the navigation system, set an S.O.S. message to play over the galactic radio system in tandem with a homing beacon, and injected herself with a coma-inducing chemical. 'I hope this is enough to keep me alive until help comes' was her last thought.

The team was becoming disheartened at finding the wreckage of the Hunter-Gratzner. They had entered an uncharted solar system, it was believed by the map makers that since many of the planets were unsuitable for life there was no reason to chart the system. However, the Company hired more credible map makers that not only charted the system but named the planets based on computer simulations of their environment. Although they had a map made by the Company, the denizens of the ship did not operate under their jurisdiction. Just when they were about to give up hope of finding any survivors, they picked up an S.O.S. followed by navigation points to a location not far from them. Adjusting their destination they hoped for the best. Upon arriving, they saw an outdated emergency skiff. Setting the tractor beam on the skiff they waited with baited breath for what they would find.


	15. Chapter 15

**Note: I am glad that everyone is enjoying the story and truly, I have no idea where the animals come from. I just think of animals that I feel would best fit the environment and the weirdest creatures fill my head. Harry, I figure, would be the same way and with his extensive biology background he could make them work. The reactions to Harry finding out about his pregnancy were entertaining. Don't worry, Carolyn will not get off easy (insert sinister laughter). **

**Just a side note, the domesticity in the group on the planet is making it difficult to write those scenes, so they won't be very long. They will be more little snippets in time to show important events. Enjoy!**

**Chapter Fifteen: Revelations and Inferences/ Second Trimester**

Finally, after what seemed hours but in reality were just minutes, the skiff entered their docking hold. The men performed the necessary external scans looking for any particularly harmful pathogens, before a team was sent to investigate. Satisfied that no such danger existed, the men entered the docking hold and approached the skiff. Getting a good look at it, the men were surprised that a model as outdated as this could even fly as there was no way the cells needed for the relic were still produced. Jensen shared a significant look with McCoy, knowing that it was unlikely they would find anyone alive on the dilapidated old skiff. Touching the side panel to open the door, Coor moved into a tactical position in case of hostile occupants. For a moment no one moved, as Coor went into the skiff to check for any threats. 'That is and always will be a paranoid man' Jenson thought as he shook his head in slight annoyance. However, seeing the hard and gruff man rush out of the skiff and hunch over next to the skiff in obvious distress did not sooth the nerves of the men. Jenson motioned McCoy and Olask into the ship to hopefully discern the nature of the man's distress. After a few moments, the men returned with grave faces. 'Well, McCoy looks grave. It's not as if I can see Olask's face underneath the hood' Jenson thought.

"Report," Jenson asked in a clipped manner wondering what scene could be waiting for them that could unsettle his three calmest and most rational men.

"Could be from the crash, the only survivor is a woman who appears to have been part of the flight crew. Carolyn Fry would be her name, only woman on the crew. Two bodies with her, civilians sir, an older man dressed in holy garb and a boy dressed similar. They are practically as fresh as whenever they died. Unknown as to other members of crash, we will have to question the woman," Coor answered after he became composed.

"There will be a problem with that sir," McCoy spoke up.

"What problem will there be doctor?" Jenson asked respectfully, after all McCoy was old enough to be his father.

"The woman feared death so that she took a highly dangerous chemical to induce coma. If we try to just give her an antidote and wake her she will most surely die, however if we give her the required antidote over a period of time it will have better results," McCoy stated cautiously.

"What type of results exactly?" Jenson asked knowing that McCoy was withholding information. 'The man is a terrible liar, which makes him the best person to play poker with' Jenson thought in amusement despite the situation.

"It is unlikely that she will ever fully regain consciousness, even after the entirety of the antidote is given. There is also a high probability that she will die from the stress her body will be placed under. I will have to monitor her closely while administering the antidote for she may very well unknowingly give information while fighting through the demons of her past," McCoy stated gently understanding that Jenson was unlikely to think this a better result.

"Why make the woman suffer? Perhaps we should just end it now?" Scotty spoke up for the first time.

"No, she knows what happened to my nephew and I will not let her rest until I find answers," Olask hissed, "besides this woman deserves this and much more."

"Listen Olask, I know that you are a heartless bastard for some unknown reason, but no one deserves such a punishment unless they committed a terrible crime. You know as well as I that she has committed none-"

"So sure Scotty, those bodies were not resultant from natural causes. I'm sure Doc's report will confirm that, so why not wait until we hear something before we kill our star witness," Coor said in his gruff voice. So, the bodies were taken to the morgue for autopsy and Scotty was assigned to find a reason the woman would resort to such desperate measures. The unresponsive body of Fry was placed in the medical bay until a decision could be made one way or the other about her part in helping their investigation. Olask brooded as he examined the skiff and fabric from the dead for clues as to where the ship may have crashed. It was three days before everyone was able to regroup to share their discoveries. Sitting in their meeting room, Jenson looked to Olask for some thoughts on what planet they could have come from.

"Unfortunately, very little could be gathered except that wherever it is they escaped from was extremely dry as only sand and no vegetation was found on their clothes. The exterior of the skiff appeared to be heavily damaged, from what I cannot tell," Olask said in a business-like tone although the extreme annoyance at discovering nothing about his nephew's possible location was palpable. Jenson nodded and sent a look of understanding as Olask's mourner's ensemble was mainly due to his nephew being on the crashed ship. He hoped for the man's sake that Alex and his family survived the crash and were safe wherever they might be. Nodding to show comprehension of his findings, Jenson turned his attention toward Dr. McCoy.

"The woman did kill the two civilians, although the boy was already dying from a grievous spinal cord injury at the time of his murder. It appears he received the injury before they escaped for it was badly infected, which must have happened on the planet considering no bacterial organisms were discovered on the skiff. Suffocation is the cause of death in his case. The man, who must have been the boy's father, was killed via a chemical similar to morphine. Although I believe his death was accidental," McCoy stated in a solemn tone, although professional he could not abide murder and very often had trouble presenting such information. Everyone had raised eyebrows from astonishment that anyone could be so cruel, except Olask who wore a satisfied smirk that was just visible in the shadows from his hood.

"Scotty, can you shed any light onto what would drive the woman to murder?" Jenson asked wondering what could cause such cruelty.

"Yes, I can. It appears that she had the stupid idea of converting fuel cells from the Hunter-Gratzner to operate in the skiff…" Scotty started only to drift off, most likely trying to think on how to relay the information in a comprehensible way.

"Why is that stupid? It seems smart to me, the planet from what the Doc told us of the boy's injuries is hostile. Escape seems logical to me," Coor said thinking always about survival.

"It's stupid because the inefficiency of converting the fuel cells would cause system failure within months of escaping. The power transfer was also done shabbily, wasting much of the energy, meaning that the launch took up most of the available power. If I had to hazard a guess, she probably killed them to lessen the strain on important systems such as life support. However even such drastic actions could not lessen the inefficiency of the power system and she eventually placed herself in a coma hoping help would come before the systems completely failed," Scotty said in slight exasperation that his friend was so impatient as to not wait for him to finish his thoughts. Jenson sighed as he processed the information.

"So, let me get this straight. Carolyn Fry, who was a crew member on the Hunter-Gratzner, survived a crash on an unknown planet with some of the civilians. She and two civilians escaped, unknown on status or location of other survivors if any. Her escape was flawed and upon realizing that she murdered the two other escapees. One of which was a dying boy who received a fatal injury from a hostile on whatever planet they crashed on. Is that about it?" Jenson asked, his mind heavy with the thoughts of finding any other survivors if any. 'People like Olask deserve to know what happened to their loved ones or have bodies to burn if we cannot give them good news' Jenson thought as he sneaked a look at the brooding man. When he received nods in confirmation of his conclusions, he paused to consider his options. "Alright, set her on the antidote and let's see what we get."

* * *

Harry moved around the kitchen cooking a meal as he did often now, considering he was eating for two and nutrition bars were just not good enough. The last of the fruit and vegetables were ripening and soon the produce would stop growing. Luckily, the refrigerator was well stocked and everything was prepared to last them until either production started again or the eclipse ended. Life was once again routine. As was their morning routine, if any point in eternal darkness could be considered morning, Riddick came up behind him and wrapped him in his strong arms. Feeling Riddick's hands cover his stomach, Harry smiled before continuing to stir the water in the pot. Riddick could smell the various vegetables, nuts, diced leaves, and such that filled the pot. Deciding that part was ready, Harry asked Riddick to lift the pot and move it over to the metal bucket he used for draining. The protectiveness of the males living in the makeshift home was truly starting to get ridiculous, but Harry allowed it if only to ensure their child stayed healthy. Placing a wooden platter over the pot to keep the goodies inside from spilling into the water, Harry told Riddick to slowly tilt the pot. Soon, Riddick poured most of the water out and Harry had him empty the resulting cooked food onto a platter. Harry then took larger edible leaves and started wrapping small amounts of the mixture on the platter. Soon the platter was replaced by dozens of neat little wraps. With that finished Harry set the table with a jug of milk, the wraps and bread from the rations pack. Eating was a quiet event as everyone opted to fill their bellies than talk about nothing.

"You know what I would love, a traditional breakfast of eggs, bacon, toast…" Zeke said dreamily to his wife in what he thought was a quiet voice. He seemed to forget that in the quiet; even the quietest whispers could be heard clearly.

"Sorry that my thoughtful meal didn't appease you Zeke! I only woke up early to cook it for everyone, if you want me to let you fend for yourself than I can do so! Or perhaps you would have rather gone with Carolyn and died on the way to the skiff what with your still bleeding leg at the time," Harry said angrily. Logan and Riddick winced, knowing that Harry was not to be messed with when he was in a sour mood. Apparently, Shazza did not realize that.

"He was only making a comment that was not even directed to you! You will not talk to my husband that way just because you are angry that you got knocked up by a convict!" Shazza hissed to an agitated Harry. What she did not expect was for Harry to burst into tears and immediately move to seat himself in Riddick's lap to hide his tears in his chest. The glare that Riddick aimed at Shazza sent her reeling in fear of whatever retribution he would take. Looking around the table, Shazza noticed all the angry looks being directed at her and flinched in her seat. Zeke put a calming arm around his wife's shoulders and pulled her to him telling her that everything was fine. Surprisingly it was Ali that was angry enough to verbalize his displeasure.

"Mama did not need you yelling at him! He was just pointing out how mean Zeke's comment was considering mama does all the cooking. You have no right to yell at my mama, he saved your life," Ali said in a vicious hiss that should not be heard in the voice of a child. Zeke raised an eyebrow at the tone, although he was impressed that a child could cause his rough-edged wife to tremble in his arms. 'Actually it could be the deep growls from Riddick and Logan putting her on edge' Zeke thought to himself as he heard the deep guttural sound. Harry stopped crying although he did not loosen his grip on Riddick's shirt. The comment now that he was less emotional made him think about the small variety of animals available on the ship and how to fix it; after all, they needed more sources of meet. 'Perhaps, I can kill two birds with one stone, a bird that's it!' Harry thought as he considered what creature could help both problems. Calmly getting up from Riddick's lap, Harry moved toward his sketchbook only to stop and lean against his father, who was closest. Feeling dizzy, Harry sat in his father's lap until it passed. When it didn't pass, Harry asked Riddick to take him down to their suite.

The next few days were tense, as Harry was prone to dizziness and still vomited on occasion. It seemed that although Harry forgave Zeke's comment and Shazza's yelling, the others were not so accommodating to the couple. Riddick was awoken after a sleepless night by elated laughter from the next room. Walking out, he saw a scene that made him smile. Harry was sitting on the long ottoman, which was found amongst other household items that one of the more unfortunate passengers had brought along, holding his shirt up while the children took turns rubbing his belly. Upon closer inspection, Riddick noticed the slight bulge of Harry's stomach. Noticing Riddick standing in the doorway, Harry motioned him over ecstatically. Sitting next to Harry he too rested his hand on Harry's slightly protruding stomach thinking of the child that would be with them in five months.

* * *

McCoy sat in his office watching the holotape, a nifty device that attached to electrodes could record a person's dreams. This combined with the recording of her mumbling, allowed Dr. McCoy to make educated inferences on her memories of the event. Currently, he was watching her memory of the crash. It was sketchy, most likely from the stress of the moment. He saw flashes of lights, buttons, switches, and levers. One of the levers was the purge and he watched as she used it. Then he heard on the tape recording her mumbling 'Not gonna die for them' and wrote down in his notepad that he believed she purged most of the passengers. Her last purge appeared unsuccessful as the holotape showed her pulling the lever multiple times without result and yelling at one of the other crew members, Owens. Then everything went white, he assumed this was her going unconscious from the crash. Sighing from the strain of listening and watching as the woman remembers her willingness to kill the passengers on the off chance that she would be saved, McCoy stood to go brief the captain on his findings so far.

Jenson was sitting talking to Scotty about the age of the skiff and if any known colonies had ever settled in this system within that time period, hoping to get a more localized idea of where the crash could have occurred. Unfortunately, it was a dead end. Just as the men considered seeking out McCoy for any information on Fry's memories, a knock was heard on the door. Telling, whoever was outside to enter, the two were happy to see McCoy come through the door. McCoy sat down heavily setting his notepad on the table in front of his seat. Rubbing his face, he took a moment to gather his wayward thoughts before he told them of his findings. Jenson and Scotty shifted in their seats, impatient for some news on the survivors. Finally, McCoy collected himself and began to inform his companions on his findings.

"The woman seemed to have no conscious or at least not a very effective one. Her need to survive was so great that she actually purged most of the passengers in hope that she could still manage a landing. One of the other crew members, Owens, was with her but I am unsure if he survived the crash."

"So we have a woman who for her own personal gain killed off the majority of the passengers before the crash and two of the survivors after escaping whatever planet they crashed on?" Jenson asked to make sure he understood what he was told. After receiving a nod, he groaned and told the others to not mention it to Olask, not wanting to worry him unnecessarily.

* * *

Harry sat at the table sketching while eating a round fruit with a spiral design that tasted similar to an apple. The morning sickness had subsided primarily, although he still felt a bit nauseous during the morning, but now dizziness made him cautious about venturing up and down the stairs unaccompanied. Therefore, he had been sitting in the same spot since they had their 'morning' meal. Zeke came into the kitchen from the living quarters and approached the table to get a nutrition bar, although he was cautious around the hormonal man. 'He has been skittish since the incidence during the morning meal a month ago' Harry thought in amusement 'although, I guess he has reason to be so jumpy.' Watching the man sit down and start to chew on his treat, Harry continued his sketching. The silence was tense as the two shared the space. In the next room, Harry heard the children playing and exclaiming over attributes they hoped the baby had. Surprisingly, Ali wanted a little sister and Jack hoped for twins. Riddick and Logan were in Harry's parent's quarters planning a trip to the colony to salvage furniture and materials as soon as the eclipse ended. Alex was in the garden pulling weeds and collecting the medicinal plants for future need. Shazza ascended the stairs most likely to talk to her husband and saw Harry drawing in his sketchbook with one hand and rubbing his belly with the other. 'He really looks good pregnant' Shazza thought before she approached the table. Grabbing a nutrition bar, she too sat and hoping to lessen the tension in the room started a conversation.

"What are you drawing?" Shazza asked in interest. From her position she could see very little of the page. Harry placed his pencil down and looked up with a smile at the woman who had been under a lot stress from the unfriendly attentions of his family.

"I am drawing my version of chicken, except it will be bigger and not at all like a chicken," Harry says in slight confusion as to how to explain the animal to them. The couple nodded in confusion and sat back to allow Harry to finish what he does best. However before he could put pencil to paper, the children rushed in and over to him to clinging to his shirt.

"Careful of Mamma's tummy," Harry said gently as he held the children to him. He raised an eyebrow at his mother as he sauntered in with a mischievous grin on his face. Nothing was said, although Harry knew that either a prank was played or Alex told the kids something to scare them. Moving the children to sit on either side of him, Harry continued his drawing. Soon the page glowed and four three-foot birds jumped out of the page. The children awed and immediately went to pet one of the flightless birds, touching its tiny wings and examining its beak. Surprisingly, the animal accepted the administrations without protest and the others left the room. The adults, except Harry, examined the remaining bird with curious eyes. It had a mane of feathers in the back of its head and long feet.

"How do we ensure those creatures do not kill the birds?" Shazza asked curiously.

"Same way I know that the cat will not be killed, they will not venture out of the light. I have created them to live in the light and fear the dark," Harry said with a shrug before motioning for his mother to help him down the stairs. A yawn signified that he is becoming tired, another side effect of his pregnancy. The children quickly ran down the stairs to tell their daddy that mama will be sleeping so that he does not disturb him by mistake.

* * *

Olask found McCoy in his office reviewing his notes. He was here for information; everyone was tightlipped about the investigation and Scotty was giving him sympathetic looks. The strangest thing about that was that Scotty hated him with a passion. So, Olask stood behind McCoy's chair waiting for the man to notice him. After a moment of reviewing notes, making changes, and writing conclusions, McCoy finally acknowledged his presence by asking Olask to follow him to the meeting room. With a shrug that could not be seen by the still seated man, Olask backed up to give him room to move. Walking in silence to the meeting room, Olask pondered on what news he was about to hear. Sitting around the table, the men settled in for a most likely disturbing conversation.

"McCoy what do you have for us?" Jenson asked in a weary voice, unsure if he wanted to hear more about the sins of the woman.

"Firstly, I would like to inform you captain that Carolyn Fry died today. She woke from her chemical-induced coma and begged for forgiveness before she started seizing. Her body could not handle the violent tremors and apparently something hemorrhaged inside as she began to cough up blood. From what I can tell, she drowned from her own blood. It was a most violent death," McCoy said with a tinge of pity in his voice. Giving a deep sigh at the memory of the woman's death, McCoy looked around the table to ground himself. Olask was the only one who did not seem even a bit sympathetic at the woman's death, although it was hard to judge his emotions without being able to see his face.

"That is unfortunate, but what have you been able to gather from the woman?" Jenson asked, hoping that some good news would be forthcoming. Olask snorted at the obvious nonchalance Jenson displayed regarding the death of Carolyn Fry. Mc Coy cleared his throat before beginning his report.

"The crash resulted in the death of Owens, who saved the passengers located closest to the cockpit. There were fourteen survivors, as follows: two prospectors, three pilgrims on their way to New Mecca, a mercenary, a convict, two orphans, a treasure collector, and a family. She does not remember all the names, but she does remember a green-eyed boy matching the description of Olask's nephew's adopted son. There are flashes of a man that resembles Alex and another man that seems gruff and dangerous. Everything is very stilted and incomplete. A colony was found. The male prospector was almost killed by some creature and the boy, Harry, went to investigate. Riddick went after the boy after he became injured and the group decided to journey to the colony to salvage what they needed to investigate. Bones lining a tunnel, a solar model, three suns, an eclipse. It is all very disjointed. Seven people were left behind," McCoy said in confusion trying to put the memories together in a coherent manner.

"So what planet could fit that description? It has to be sandy, have three suns, and an eclipse," Jenson stated, smiling when he saw Olask pull down his hood and thank McCoy for giving him hope of his nephew's survival.

"Hades," Coor stated without pause, "it is a planet with perpetual sun except for every twenty-second year for six months during which there is perpetual night."

"What of these creatures? What did the woman know about them?" Olask asked, speaking up for the first time. Everyone looked at him in shock; he seemed much less hostile now that some positive news on his nephew was heard. His question gave the others pause as they considered this dimension to their mission.

"Well, from her ramblings I deduced that the creatures stay in the darkness. Light damages them, much like the fables of vampires that existed long ago," McCoy stated reluctantly.

"So with them there during a six month eclipse, how can we be sure that they are alive?" Jenson asked considering that there would be nowhere to hide.

"If they could have gotten to the Hunter-Gratzner, there is a chance that they could have rigged the lights. I know it's not much, but there is a chance that they are alive," Scotty said hopefully.

"My nephew would know how to survive. They are there, I know they are," Olask said, eyes flashing in determination.

"Alright, plot a course to Hades. Make sure we arrive after the eclipse," Jenson stated, leaning back in his chair with a heavy sigh.


	16. Chapter 16

**Note: For those of you who were thrown off by the Star Trek names, sorry. I found it amusing to add a couple names from the well known intergalactic travel series, just my odd sense of humor. For those of you asking what is going to happen next, I would answer if I could do so without ruining the next chapter for you. In addition, my outline for this story is vague so many of the details are not set in stone. I'm thinking that this baby will be wrapped up soon, unfortunately. Enjoy!**

**Chapter Sixteen: Finding the Lost/Discord **

"How far from Hades are we?" Jenson asked upon approaching Coor, the navigation officer. Coor swiveled in his chair to look at Jenson and took in the frazzled, exasperated expression on the captain's face. Smirking at the captain's expression, the gruff man looked at the monitors again for a minute before answering the question posed to him.

"We should arrive at Hades the day after tomorrow; the eclipse will have been over for about a week. Hopefully, the survivors will stay at the crash site," Coor stated before turning back to the monitors. Jenson gave Coor's back a cool stare before he turned and began to search for Olask. He found the man in his lab, constructing clay models of the creature portrayed in Carolyn's dreams. The models were shocking, even the small two-foot high models showed the animal as a perfect killing machine. Clearing his throat, Jenson relayed the information of how near Hades they were. Olask nodded before returning to his task. Watching as the man worked, Jenson hummed in astonishment as the man adjusted his model's based on Dr. McCoy's notes. Finally, he was finished and the resulting product was more fearsome than any of the previous models. 'Just what are we getting ourselves into?' Jenson thought before he turned and left. Everyone sat in anticipatory silence as the planet became larger and larger in their viewing screens until all they could see was sand. Coor set about scanning the planet so as to have a map of some sorts to guide themselves by.

"Are you seeing this?" Scotty asked, pointing out a vast area that contained bleached bones.

"We are getting close, the woman remembered that place," McCoy stated as he continued to look for the wreckage that was left of the Hunter-Gratzner. Soon they came upon the most beautiful scene; the wreckage was covered in green much like a rock covered in moss. Tree tops could be seen at the edge of a rather large hole in the ship. Setting their ship down not far from the unexpected sight, the five men left with high hopes of finding some passengers alive. Moving into what was left of the ship through a hole, the men saw a veritable Garden of Eden to their right and vines covering the walls around them. Walking to their left, the men came to a large room covered in vines. Strange plants lined the bottom of the wall, the men jumped when a few of them began to spit seeds onto the floor. Sharing a look of confusion, the men were not prepared to be confronted by the large birds that came to eat the seeds. Olask seemed fascinated by the creatures and moved closer cautiously to get a better look. Coor looked around suspiciously, after all nothing like this was in Carolyn's dreams. In the shadows he saw an area of long grasses that he assumed by the few smaller bird like creatures that he could see moving in and out of the area to be a nesting ground. Finally, the men moved toward the hallway to continue their exploration. Scotty quietly pointed out the fuel cell room that was in front of them before they moved through the open doorway into an unexpected surprise. Jenson gave an impressive whistle at the very homey kitchen area.

"Impressive, isn't it?" a voice asked, startling them out of observations. Coor spun around with his gun level to shoot if any threats were detected.

* * *

Harry watched the five men that had invaded their home with trepidation. 'Who are these men? Are they part of the rescue part that Carolyn swore would come for us? Or are they mercenaries out for Riddick?' Harry thought to himself as he eyed the men. One wore a uniform reminiscent of a soldier and had multiple weapons, one of which was pointing at him. Another was holding some gadget and seemed to be scanning the place possibly to detect signatures indicating life, not that it would help with all the creatures roaming around. However, the one that caught his attention was the man that was his mother's image if his mother was older and darker in features or mood. Placing his hands on the table to help steady himself as he stood, Harry cautiously approached the group. It was amusing to see the shock and fascination in their eyes as they saw his rather swollen stomach. The stuttering questions were also highly amusing. Putting up a hand to stall any coherent questions or interrogation, Harry motioned for them to sit before he set about preparing a quick snack. Olask eyed the boy, knowing immediately from those green eyes who he was, before moving to sit at the table. Jenson, seeing the recognition in Olask's eyes also moved to sit at the table. Soon they all sat at the rather large wooden table watching as the heavily pregnant boy moved around the kitchen. A bowl of dip was served with pieces of hard bread and the men graciously ate the food. Coor did take a moment to sniff the strange dip before taking a bite, but other than that Harry could see no immediate paranoia or threat from the men. They ate in silence, but the peace was soon broken when two sleepy-eyed children stumbled up from an unseen stairway whining for food. As the men watched Harry give the two children plates with some bread, dip, and what looked like nuts of some kind, they wondered why this young man responded to the children when they called him mama.

"Where is Daddy and Grandpa and Grandma and Zeke-" Ali began to ask before being cut off by his older sister.

"We get it Ali, we get it, so where is everyone?" Jack asked in a less longwinded way with a teasing roll of her eyes.

"Jack sweetie, that was not very polite," Harry scolded before answering both the children and the unasked questions of the men. "Grandma is in the garden and the others traveled to the abandoned settlement to scavenge for useful items. Their grandma is Alexander Olask, who I call mother, and their grandpa is Logan, who I call father. No he does not have a last name. Zeke and Shazza are prospectors that survived the crash."

"And who do they call daddy?" Coor asked aggressively, pulling his gun just that much closer from the relaxed position he had it in earlier.

"This little ones father is the man they call daddy," Harry answered evasively rubbing his stomach soothingly. A chuckle from the doorway caused the men to turn only to stare as who they presumed was Alexander Olask. Harry gave a warm smile before motioning him over to the table. Alex sat next to the children and stole a couple nuts from Jack's plate ignoring the loud protest.

"I don't think that is what they meant son, but I understand your reluctance to answer the question," Alex said smoothly while piercing Coor with a threatening look. The man tried to return the look so as to show he will not be cowed but becoming unnerved, lowered his weapon. Harry watched the exchange with bemusement. McCoy finished his meal later than the others and watched Harry as he moved around cleaning up the dishes and storing the uneaten food into an ingenious cooler set near the doorway along the wall. Olask was busy checking his nephew over and talking to him about his family, especially his adopted son's condition. Soon, the men became comfortable sitting around the table discussing the intricacies of their survival before and during the eclipse. Jenson watched everything in silence from his spot at the table until McCoy gathered the nerve to question Harry about his pregnancy. It seemed that the light camaraderie that had settled amongst them was shattered with the innocent query. Harry tensed a bit before he chuckled drily.

"Aren't you an inquisitive man? I suppose that you are a medical professional to be so fascinated with my pregnancy," Harry said with a raised eyebrow in the man's direction.

"I'm sorry if I offended you, but male pregnancy is exceptionally rare except for a few planets," McCoy stated in slight confusion.

"Sorry, mood swings sometimes make me react in unforeseen ways to harmless inquiry. My pregnancy is similar to that of a female except the symptoms are more extreme. There isn't much more to tell than that," Harry said as a condolence although he knew that was not what McCoy wished to know.

"Actually, it is the father that I am interested in. It is said that the man that sires a male pregnancy must be powerful for the men capable of bearing children are rather picky in respect to who can bed them. The most powerful race that was known to have male pregnancy as a common occurrence was the Furyans, although they are extinct now," McCoy said, explaining his knowledge. "Of course there were rumors that the convict, Riddick, was a Furyan."

"I am sorry, but what does that have to do with my son? Are you insinuating that Riddick is my son's partner?" Alex asked both to show he caught the subtle conclusive tone and to understand more what the men felt about Riddick.

"I am not insinuating anything, it is just that according to the memories of Carolyn Fry the only person missing from those left behind is Riddick, therefore according to, Harry was it?" McCoy paused to glance at Harry to make sure he got the name correct, "he would have to be the father. There is nothing wrong with Harry being with Riddick, per se, it is just that as Riddick is a convict their life will be rough."

"Like hell there is nothing wrong with it," Coor hissed out angrily, "That little whore should be used as bait against the convict if they are so close. Riddick belongs behind bars!" The venom within Coor's words was not what shocked the others, but more so that he was pointing his weapon at the pregnant Harry. McCoy moved to stand in front of the pregnant boy protectively. Alex tried to usher the children away without catching Coor's attention, but the man pulled out another gun and trained it on the Ali. Everyone tensed and began trying to calm the highly agitated man to no avail. Coor was able to corral everyone into the storage room in the living quarters under gun point as he had the only weapons. No one could talk him out of his hatred for the felon and all waited nervously for the others to return.

* * *

This trip to the settlement was to be their last, as they were collecting what they could to make Harry's last months of pregnancy comfortable. Logan and Riddick were working together amicably, although there was occasional tension. They found that sparing together released stress and renewed their respect for one another enough to reduce their desire to kill each other. Riddick was carrying a crib that he found in one of the homes out to the solar car to the amusement of Zeke who was arranging everything in the car to transport better. Shazza was playing with the solar model to ensure that no more darkness would be hitting for the next twenty-two years while Logan grabbed clothes off the lines and other such items. Zeke called out when he saw a ship moving through the horizon and land close to where he knew the wreck to be. Everyone piled what was in their hands onto the solar car before they jumped on to travel back. The trip was made in silence as different thoughts went through each person's head about the newcomers. 'Are they here to rescue us? Carolyn did promise that a rescue team was coming' Shazza thought excitedly, she couldn't wait to get away from this strange dysfunctional family. 'Is it really worth it to leave? This is what we have been trying to find, the simple life. Can we just give it up for the possibility of escape' Zeke thought while pondering what his wife's reaction would be if he refused to leave. Thoughts of fighting strategies and possible weapons filled the heads of Riddick and Logan as both knew that no good would come from the landing of the ship. Shazza stopped the solar car near the opening by the garden and jumped out to move into their pseudo-home excitedly. Zeke went to call after his wife, but a hand over his mouth stopped him. Looking back, he saw that it was Riddick that held the hand over his mouth.

"If these people are not friendly, we should not draw unwanted attention to ourselves," Riddick said quietly. Logan gave a small grunt in agreement.

"Do you believe that these people will start trouble, couldn't they just be the rescuers that Carolyn swore would come for us?" Zeke asked, although it was muffled by Riddick's hand.

"Could be, but there is still the possibility that they could have sent someone for Riddick amongst them. He is worth too much to take the chance of his escape," Logan said sardonically.

"We are going to take this slow," Riddick said silkily, dangerously, "my family is in there and if there is someone after me, they will not be hurt by your inability to restrain yourself. I will kill you myself to protect them, so if I cannot trust you to not reveal us than you will stay here. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes, but my wife?" Zeke asked, worried for her safety.

"Stay here," Logan said annoyed with the man. Logan shot Riddick a look and the man gave a feral smirk before moving around to the wreckage to the highly unused door in the opposite hallway. Riddick moved quietly around the hull and opened the door letting him into the hallway. He heard the clucking sound of the birds and one even moved past him into the kitchen. Moving into the kitchen, Riddick saw the livestock shifting restlessly in their pen. 'Something is wrong, everything Harry draws is in tune to his emotions, so something has to be wrong' Riddick thought before he saw Shazza disappearing down the stairs. Staying in his place, he listened as she cried out in surprise and a gunshot sound throughout the metal home.

"What the hell is your problem?" Shazza said angrily. Riddick smirked as he heard the volatile woman explode on whoever shot at her.

"Who are you and where is Riddick?" an unknown voice sounded at the same time Riddick heard a gun being recharged. 'Ah, so it's one of the newer models. Those have an awful reload time' Riddick thought with a smirk.

"Aren't you a rescue party? Cause if you are just mercs than you can leave because Riddick died during the eclipse," Shazza said angrily. An eyebrow raised when he heard that, was the woman trying to fend off other groups of mercs from disturbing them or was she angry that they came for him.

"That's bullshit, if he died then this little whore's stomach wouldn't be swollen with his child," the voice stated again.

"What the hell are you doing Coor? We came to rescue these people not terrorize them," another unknown voice yelled. From the position, Riddick figured they were in the storage room. Deciding that enough was enough, Riddick made his way down the stairs. However before he fully entered the area he pulled himself up into the beams that made up the ceiling of the space. Moving through the shadows, he stopped when he was literally on top of the man he assumed was Coor. At the moment there was an argument brewing over the necessity to capture him and take him to the deepest, darkest slam known to the universe. 'Not that I won't escape it with ease, every slam has its weak area' Riddick thought with a mental snort. From what he could tell the party was meant to rescue any survivors, however, Coor tagged along using his weapons specialty as a cover for his true reasons. Those reasons being the price on Riddick's head and his half-brother Johns.

"I trusted you, I vouched for you!" a third voice yelled in outrage, "I told Jenson there was no way that you were anything but what you said you were. I promised him you weren't a merc, just had experience handling weapons…"

"You always were naïve Scotty, wanting to believe the best in people. Here's a news flash, Olask knew from the get-go I was hiding something that I wasn't in it for the same reasons. But then takes one to know one, he could see the same desperation in my eyes as was in his; the desperation of looking for a loved one not knowing if they are dead or alive. However, unlike him my desperation was more so for the hope that my meal ticket was still alive than my no-good brother," Coor stated with a smirk and a wave of the gun to get Shazza moving into the storage room turned jail room. Riddick heard Logan up above; the man was analyzing the situation and determining the best course of action. Logan moved towards the stairs knowing that to defuse the situation, they would need to take out Coor. When Shazza was close to the door two things happened: she rushed Coor and Logan had come down the stairs. In the panic, Coor shot his gun into the throng of people being held in the storage room. Riddick dropped down on top of them, using his opportunity to knock the merc out. Alex's wail alerted them to the fact that someone indeed was shot during the panic and looking into the room, Riddick and Logan could see that it was Alex's uncle. The man was clutching his chest where a dark red stain was rapidly spreading. McCoy tried to take a look at the man, but another cry caught his attention. This one was from Harry, who was being held by Riddick just outside of the room. Their children sat crying next to the couple. Looking between the two possible patients, McCoy was unsure which he should attend to.

"See about the boy, I'll be fine. It looks worse than it is, missed anything major," Olask reassured with a small groan as he sat upright with the help of his nephew. Alex put an ear to his uncle's chest and not hearing any gurgling, nodded his acceptance of the command. McCoy moved over to Harry and asked him to explain what he was feeling.

"My stomach and back hurt. Is something wrong? This shouldn't be happening, should it?" Harry asked in rising panic.


	17. Chapter 17

Note: So, there isn't much to say for this chapter, except that this is the end of the line, whether there will be a sequel is unknown as of yet. Enjoy!

**Chapter Seventeen: Births, Deaths, and Decisions**

"He's going into labor, we need to move him to a more comfortable place," McCoy stated in his doctor voice. Riddick picked Harry up and started to move toward their suite with everyone following.

"What do you mean he is going into labor? He still has three months left," Alex called out anxiously as he supported his uncle. Behind him Logan was carting Coor none too gently. Shazza fidgeted guiltily as she prayed Harry and the baby turned out all right. Zeke, who had ran into their makeshift home on the second shot, put his arm around her in comfort. Everyone moved into the sitting room of Riddick and Harry's suite with only McCoy, Riddick, Logan and Alex venturing into the bedroom where Riddick laid Harry upon their blankets. Riddick ran his fingers through Harry's hair as McCoy mechanically removed the clothes covering Harry's lower body. Harry was crying softly in between bouts of pain.

"Can you stop it, why can't you stop the baby from coming?" Alex asked as he took his son's hand to help him focus on something other than the rhythmic pain.

"Male pregnancies don't respond well to the medications used to stop labor. In the best case scenario it can lead to seizures of the mother, but most of the time the mother and infants die from the chemicals. The exact reason for this is unknown," McCoy stated as he pulled a vial from a pocket in his pants leg. "You wouldn't happen to have a knife on hand would you?" Logan and Riddick raised an eyebrow at the man before he explained the need of a knife to cut the umbilical cord. Deciding not to show the man their hand, Riddick pulled out one of his many shivs. Dipping the small blade in the vial, the men were not prepared for the man to pull out a lighter and run the shiv through the flame. A beautiful blue flame surrounded the blade for a moment before it fizzled out. At the questioning looks the man explained, "The liquid was rubbing alcohol. Easiest way to sterilize something is to dip it into a flammable alcohol and light it on fire. Whatever the alcohol doesn't kill, the flame will."

"What will happen to the baby?" Riddick asked gruffly. He worried for his child that still resided in Harry's womb as much as he did for Harry if the child did not survive.

"Children born to male mothers have a better survival rate being born premature than those born to female mothers. Some believe it is because they are heartier from the harshness of a male womb," McCoy said in reassurance.

"Is that what you believe?" Alex asked, wondering if the man was just giving hope without believing his own words. McCoy set the shiv into a box that he pulled out of his pocket and gave a deep sigh.

"Yes and no. I do believe that the womb of a child-bearing male is harsh due to their bodies being different then women enough to not be automatically suited to pregnancies. That is why their symptoms are so very severe. However, I also believe that the father plays a large role. Most premature infants born to male mothers that survived were fathered by races that had a high prevalence for these types of births. Now, I have one question: Are you truly a Furyan?"

"Yes," Riddick grunted, not averting his attention from his lover. McCoy let out a relieved sigh that calmed the nerves of Logan and Alex. Although, everyone still prayed that the labor pains would diminish, they felt more secure about a birth if it indeed happened. Looking underneath the blanket that he had covered him with to preserve modesty, McCoy saw that there was no progression past the pain. Leaving the room, McCoy walked over to have a quiet conversation with Jenson. Jenson nodded his head at the end of the conversation, motioned Scotty over, and whispered some explanation into his ear before the two left. Zeke began to pay attention when Olask asked about Harry. There was not much that could be gathered from the conversation besides McCoy was preparing for the worst but hoping for the best. A light snort came from Shazza at the announcement and she asked in a self-depreciating tone, "So, which do you suspect? That my foolish heroics will cause Riddick to lose them all or that at least Harry may be saved?"

* * *

Coor felt a jolt of pain shoot through his head as muffled sounds reached his ears. His shoulders ached and lower leg was numb from the knee down. Cataloging his symptoms, he could only come to the conclusion that he had been knocked out and tied up. Opening his eyes slowly, Coor noticed that Olask sat in front of him with a gun aimed straight for him while the bitch who rushed him and an unknown man were curled up asleep not far from him. Keeping his posture the same as when he first woke up, Coor tried to gather information about his surroundings. Unfortunately, he gathered very little before a kick to the head knocked him back out. Olask opened his eyes from where he had closed them to fake sleep to see an angry Alex standing over the slumped body of Coor.

"I take it that some rather unfortunate circumstances are occurring?" Olask asked his nephew with a raised brow.

"Harry has gone into labor and nothing can be done for it," Alex said with equal parts worry and anger coating his voice. He aimed another vicious kick at the man, this time to his groin, before he went back into the other room. Olask chuckled when he heard Alex tell the doctor to not even dare worry about Coor's health. Deciding to check up on the kids, he gingerly stood and made his way to the room he saw the youngsters disappear into earlier. Ali was asleep on a pile of blankets that Olask assumed made up their bed, tear tracks were visible on his cheeks. Jack played quietly with a stuffed bear, rocking it like one would a baby while she hummed. It seemed that Ali was having a fitful sleep as he cried out in his sleep and Jack moved quickly to his side. Watching as Jack whispered reassurances into the little boy's ear, Olask felt that he was intruding on a private moment and was about to back out of the room. He stopped when Jack's quiet voice reached him.

"Is Mama and the babies alright?" Jack asked from her place beside Ali.

"Babies, what makes you think your mama is having more than one baby Jack?" Olask asked feeling very much unsure about his role in these children's lives.

"I don't know, I just think he is that's all. Is Daddy and Grandma and Grandpa okay? Is that man dead?" Jack answered while asking her own questions that she needed to be answered.

"Yeah, they are fine. Coor is still alive for now, but that is just because your mamma is more important at the moment," Olask answered before he left the children to themselves and returned to keep vigil over Coor. Turning when he heard a slight curse and strained laughter, Olask saw Jenson and Scotty walk in carrying some large medical thing between them.

* * *

"Set it over here but be careful," Coor stated without looking up at the men. The large metal box was set in the corner near where Harry lay before Jenson and Scotty left to help Olask watch over Coor. Alex raised an eyebrow when no explanation was forthcoming, but decided not to vocalize his concerns when he felt Logan wrap his arm around him and whisper 'Relax' into his ear. Riddick never took his eyes or attention off Harry, who had fallen into an exhausted sleep. It was quiet for a while before McCoy began to explain what the metal box was, "It's a portable incubator with a pull out drawer of medical supplies in the bottom. Upon setting an infant or infants on the cushioned top four panes of glass rise up on each side slowly so as to not hurt the infant if their hands or legs are flailing around. The fifth, top pane, of glass is manually added and the entire thing is sealed via laser technology. Scanning systems become active once the glass is secured and the needs of the infant are provided for. System settings can be modified to allow one of the side panes to retract for feedings and such. Basically, it is top of the line technology that we were allowed to bring in case of any unforeseen circumstances."

Riddick lay on his side next to Harry, getting some rest before Harry woke again. The labor pains had not subsided, so McCoy continued to check to see if Harry was ready to push. Unfortunately, he was progressing so there was a distinct possibility that Harry would deliver. McCoy finished setting the incubator and checked Harry's progression, only to find that he was fully prepared to push. Moving the sheet further up Harry's body to allow access, he motioned Alex over to help him in case there were any problems with the baby. With everyone in place, McCoy told Harry to begin pushing. It was slow going and Harry became exhausted, but continued with the encouragement of his mother. Hours passed before the baby began crowning and at that time Harry's screams pierced the air. Curses fell from Harry's lips as freely as the tears fell from his eyes.

"Almost there, just give me one more big push," McCoy calmly stated. Harry nodded and tightened his hold on Riddick's hand before bearing down and pushing with all his might. Alex watched as the baby finally slipped free from Harry's body. Reddish mucus covered the baby obscuring the details of its features from view. Taking the sterilized shiv from the box, McCoy cut the cord and handed the tiny baby to Alex. Rubbing the squirming little one clean with a spare blanket, Alex finally noticed that he held a little girl in his arms. Slightly alarmed by the quietness of the baby, Alex rubbed gently circles on her back. The suddenness of her cries nearly caused everyone to jump, but McCoy was busy with cleaning up the afterbirth. "It's a girl, Harry, a beautiful baby girl," McCoy commented.

"Can I hold her, please?" Harry asked before he began to cry out in pain again. Alarmed, Riddick and Logan looked to the doctor for an answer to Harry's distress. Placing a few fingers inside Harry's anus to hopefully find answers, McCoy was shocked to feel another head.

"Okay, it appears that there is another baby in there. Harry, I'm going to need you to start pushing again. Alex keep hold on that little girl, we cannot place her into the incubator until her sibling is born as well," McCoy said before preparing for another birth. Riddick moved to sit behind Harry so that Harry could rest against him. Exhausted Harry gave a small smile in thanks before focusing on pushing his unexpected second child out. When the head came out, McCoy saw that the baby's cord was wrapped around the neck in two tight wraps. Telling Harry to stop pushing, he tried to unravel the cord. As quickly as possible, he unraveled the cord and told Harry to give one last big push. McCoy immediately cut the cord and cleaned the baby, but he realized that the baby was not breathing at all. Startled by that and the blue tint to the baby's skin, he used his fingers to clear out what he could from the baby's mouth. Rubbing gently on the baby's back, McCoy ignored the concerned and panicked questions of Harry and Alex. When the baby still did not respond, he began CPR by giving two puffs of breath to the baby and compressing the small chest with two fingers. A collective sigh of relief was given when the baby gave a whimpering cry of protest. "This one's a boy," McCoy commented.

The twins were placed on the incubator cushion together and Alex watched as the glass panes rose just as McCoy said they would. Harry glanced over at the incubator concernedly before closing his eyes in exhaustion. Riddick brushed Harry's hair back from his forehead and placed a kiss to the top of his head. Logan stood and moved to stand beside Alex and see the babies for himself. Both men ignored McCoy as he placed the top pane on the incubator. The babies were tiny, although they did not seem to be struggling too much considering how early they were being born. Wisps of strawberry blonde hair covered the little girl's head; she hiccoughed while recovering from her crying bout. Meanwhile her brother, who sported a thick and wild mop of dark brown hair, lay quietly seemingly preferring saving his strength for more important times.

* * *

"Shouldn't the baby be crying? I mean the baby has to be out by now, so why do we not hear anything?" Scotty asked anxiously, he too felt guilty about the situation as he vouched for Coor to come on this mission. Shazza flinched at the question before her attention was caught by Logan and Alex, who had just exited the room. The men honed in on Coor, who was sitting bound against the wall. Logan lifted the man by the neck and slammed him down harshly. Any further assault was stopped by Alex, who commented that Riddick should be the one to punish the man as he was most affected by his treachery. However, as a parting gift Alex took up one of the guns pulled off Coor and shot the man in the shoulder. A smirk adorned Logan's face when the man cried out. Impatience colored the voice of Shazza as she asked about the survival of Harry.

"Do you think so little of me that you believe both mother and child died?" McCoy asked in amusement from the doorway. His gaze hardened as he saw the self-loathing in Shazza's eyes. "Do you truly believe your actions so devastating? You did what you must in the situation; you knew not of Riddick and Logan's plans. While your actions have led to less than desirable consequences, it is ultimately Coor's fault that the situation occurred. There is no telling that anything different might have happened if you had not rushed Coor," McCoy stated before he crossed the room to examine Olask's wound.

"So, did they have a boy or a girl?" Jenson asked to lighten the mood, as he noticed both Shazza and Scotty contemplating McCoy's words. The amusement shared between Alex, Logan and McCoy confused the others while simultaneously making them more curious.

"They had a boy and a girl. Both are quite beautiful," Alex said before he went to inform the children of their new siblings.

"Is that common, I mean aren't twins rare even in normal pregnancy?" Scotty asked with a bit of awe coating his voice. Any previous misgivings about his part in the current situation were pushed aside by the knowledge that not one but two little beings came into the world in the next room.

"Twins are unheard of in male pregnancy," McCoy stated, "except in the Furyan race, although even then it was rare."

Coor gained a few months of life as Riddick was too preoccupied with his family to dish out retribution. They chained Coor to the same support beam that Riddick was chained to after the crash; they were secure in their belief that he would not manage to escape. Groggily, Coor awoke to the two forceful slaps to the face. Standing in front of him was the raven haired, green eyed Harry holding a baby in both arms. Looking in the direction that the slap came from, he was surprised and angered to see the older child standing there looking smug. Bringing his attention back to Harry, Coor was startled when the whore actually started to introduce the infants.

"This is Blake Andrew Riddick," Harry said lifting the dark haired child in his right arm. Hazel eyes focused on him intently and seemed to glare, although that is not possible for such a young child. Coor watched as the child lost interest and looked back to his mother, grabbing hold of a lock of hair that fell down Harry's shoulder. Smiling down at Blake Harry asked Jack to remove the lock of hair from his fist before he succeeded in getting it to his mouth. "This is Jasmine Abigail Riddick," Harry said lifting the fair haired child in his left arm. Green eyes, the same startling shade as her mothers, looked at the man for a moment before she yawned and snuggled into Harry for a nap.

"Why introduce your bastard children to me?" Coor spat.

"To show you that you did not win: Riddick is still free, I am still alive, and these two are healthy little babies," Harry said with satisfaction. Coor snarled, but paled when he saw Riddick walking toward him from the corner of his eye. Harry carried the children down to the suite to put down for a nap, uncaring of Coor's fate. Jack went to tell Ali of what happened with Coor. Both passed Alex, who was preparing a meal for the group as Jenson requested they discuss an important topic. Everyone sat around the table, ignoring the absence of Coor who was usually tied to a chair near Logan. The meal was quiet at first and many shyly averted their eyes when Harry fed the babies. Eventually, Jenson cleared his throat and brought up the topic that plagued him since realizing Coor's true intention.

"It is very possible that Coor got information out about your possible location, Riddick. If he did, then this planet is not safe for you or your family to live on. Now I realize that I cannot take you back to the nearest registered planet as the people that sent my team would wish me to do. You would be immediately sent to a high security slam, although I doubt it would hold you for long. Regardless, mercs would try to use your family against you like Coor wished to do…" Jenson said his voice fading as he continued to speak.

"Is there a plan somewhere in there or are you just thinking out loud captain?" Olask asked while considering both what was said and what was not said.

"Yeah, the plan is we say that you died as no one survived the crash. Instead, I can take you to the nearest unregistered planet. There is an uncharted system not far from here. Company doesn't think it important as all it contains are planets with primitive societal structures and few natural resources; therefore, the system is not important enough to be on the maps. One of the planets in this system is inhabited by an all male society, it would be the most beneficial destination," Jenson explained.

"What's to stop them from tracking Riddick there?" Shazza asked not understanding how this solution would be any better.

"Mercs use company maps, the only reason I know the system is there is because I have a sister on one of the planets. Plus, think about it. If you stay here, there will be no access to medical care and a genetic bottleneck effect could occur," Jenson defended, ignoring the raised eyebrow from Olask, "So, what do you say?"

"Any one that comes looking would see the changes to the wreckage and know that there were some survivors. Plus, what about the mercs that picked up the possible transmission of Riddick's location? They would know that the explanation doesn't suffice," Alex said, wanting to make sure all bases are covered.

"Simple, we blow the wreckage to destroy all evidence of any modifications and the transmission was sent assuming that there were survivors. Without evidence it was just Coor hoping to find you," Jenson answered the asked and unasked questions. Little more could be said in dispute of this plan, so everyone began to pack. Cages were made for some of the animals, plant specimens were taken, and key furniture was moved to the cargo hold of their ship. Charges were set around the ship, especially in heavily modified areas. Logan and Alex watched the wreckage blow apart from the window of the ship before they took off.

**Epilogue**

Blake played with the bone shiv that his daddy told him he made on the planet of his birth. He knew that most parents wouldn't let their five-year-olds play with weapons, but he wasn't a normal child; he was an alpha Furyan. Running his hand through his hair in a rare gesture of nervousness, he threw the shiv at the target only to hit it off-center by a few inches. Groaning, Blake glared when he heard his older sister Jasmine giggle from behind him. Turning so she could see his displeasure, Blake did not expect for her to hug him while congratulating him on his throw. Jasmine released her shocked brother and gifted him with a beautiful spiked whip. Both children jumped when their mother called them in for supper. Knowing better to keep their mother waiting, they ran towards the house.

"Get washed up, oh and tell your sister that if she doesn't get out of the training room I will ban her from entering it again. Oh, and tell your brother to leave the book in his room," Harry called after them as they entered the house heading for the bathroom in the back. Turning his attention back to the cooking stew, Harry did not even jump when two arms wrapped around him settling on his slightly protruding abdomen. Leaning back into the embrace, Harry smiled when he felt the hot opened mouth kiss on his neck.

"Saw Blake's shiv embedded in the target," Riddick said in his gruff voice.

"Yeah, he's adamant that he becomes as good as you to protect me in case any mercs get wise of our location," Harry said with amusement coating his voice, "I have no idea where he would have gotten such an idea, do you?"

"Nope, perhaps our headstrong elder daughter has been telling him stories again or it's his Furyan blood," Riddick said with just as much amusement, "either way, he is getting good. I couldn't hit that near center at his age."

"Hmm, well you might want to move, my parents are coming over for dinner and you know that dad still can't stand you," Harry said gently elbowing him.

**THE END**


End file.
